Living through a catastrophic Louisiana crash involving a tractor-trailer truck is often agonizing for survivors. You may experience severe physical injuries and emotional turmoil. After several months you might realize that the wounds to your body healed, but you still feel overwhelming anxiety and stress, even in familiar surroundings. You may need help healing from the mental trauma as well as the broken bones, sprains and other wounds you suffered.
Harvard Medical School describes posttraumatic stress disorder as a mental health condition that affects individuals after one or more frightening events. The trauma may result in debilitating psychological and physical symptoms.
Emotional symptoms
Most people who experience a traumatic event may have short-term difficulty coping with the effects of the crash. The intense feelings of anxiety and panic typically fade within a few weeks. If they do not, you may experience flashbacks when you are awake or nightmares, reliving the accident in your dreams.
Emotional numbness is a common coping mechanism. Over time, this behavior may cause harm to you and those around you. Avoiding activities, people and places that remind you of the crash can make you feel closed in and trapped. Increasing anger focused on those around you may also be a sign that you struggle with PTSD.
Physical symptoms
When left untreated, PTSD may affect you physically as well as mentally. Headaches, dizziness, stomach aches and chest pains are among the physical symptoms that indicate PTSD. Various types of self-harm and destructive or reckless behavior may also contribute to the severity of the disorder. Many people cannot participate in routine activities, such as spending time with loved ones or maintaining their jobs.
If your crash resulted from the actions of a negligent truck driver or trucking company, you might have grounds for a claim. A settlement might help cover lost wages and pay for medical care and ongoing treatment for PTSD.