Can I Sue for Anxiety After a Car Accident?

Yes. You can sue for anxiety after a car accident. However, you must have also experienced a physical injury in the accident. For example, if you developed severe anxiety from a car crash but only suffered minor cuts and bruises, you likely can’t sue.

It’s important to note that suing for after car accident anxiety is difficult. You will have to prove that injuries you suffered in the car accident caused anxiety that affects your everyday life (e.g., work, school, home life).

You don’t want to attempt to do this alone. Our Atlanta car accident lawyers will fight for compensation for anxiety and other losses.

What Is the Impact Rule? What Does It Have to Do With My Case?

Georgia law has an “Impact Rule” for auto accidents. It states that injured parties can only recover compensation for emotional distress (e.g., anxiety) if they can meet the following criteria:

• A “physical impact to the plaintiff” AND
• A physical injury that resulted from the impact AND
• Mental suffering or emotional distress caused by that physical injury

There are potential cases where you may be able to recover compensation even if you don’t meet all these criteria, but they are rare.

Proving this is very difficult on your own, but our personal injury attorneys are prepared to help.

For a free legal consultation, call (404) 888-8888

Car Accidents FAQs

How Do I Prove I Deserve Compensation for Anxiety After a Car Accident?

This is two-fold. First, you need to establish that another party caused your accident. To do that, we must demonstrate the following:

• Duty of care: Another party had a responsibility to operate their vehicle in a way that kept you or others from suffering harm. All drivers owe this duty to all other road users.
• Breach of duty: They failed to uphold this duty by behaving negligently. For example, the other driver was texting when they ran a red light and T-boned your vehicle. 
• Causation: The other driver’s negligence must have caused or contributed to your accident. The other driver’s failure to pay attention caused the accident and the manifestation of your anxiety and panic.
• Damages: You suffered damages (e.g., medical bills, lost wages, counseling bills, anxiety, and other forms of pain and suffering).

Once we have proven another party is liable for your accident injuries and losses, we need to establish that your anxiety stems from the injuries you suffered in your car accident. There are a few ways we can do this. We can work with an expert witness to establish that you suffer severe anxiety that manifested after your accident. We can also discuss it with your mental health therapist with your permission.

You can also keep track of your after car accident anxiety and emotional distress with a “pain journal.” For example, you will want to note the following in your journal:

• You are unable to sit in a car without having an anxiety attack
• You experience flashbacks of the accident
• You are unable to drive your vehicle out of fear of another accident
• If You experience random bouts of anxiety that you didn’t experience before the accident
• You have experienced physical symptoms, such as stomach upset, headaches, fatigue, or an inability to sleep

The expert witness or therapist’s testimony will help us prove your anxiety, and your pain journal will help establish the extent of it.

What Are the Difficulties I May Experience Suing for Anxiety?

Anxiety is subjective, so it is hard to prove. The insurance company may claim you are faking it or exaggerating your experience to recover more compensation. In addition to proving you suffered anxiety, you also have to link it to an injury from the accident. This is difficult to do, which is why it is so important to get legal help.

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What Other Damages Can I Recover After a Car Accident?

You can recover compensation for any accident-related expenses, losses, or trauma you experienced. Your economic and non-economic damages could include:

• Medical bills: When most people think of medical bills from a car accident, they consider emergency transportation, hospitalization, surgery, and doctor’s visits. But what many don’t know is that you can also recover for your mental health therapy costs and prescription medications. 
• Lost wages: You can recover lost income for any recovery time, including time you were unable to work due to your anxiety.
• Lost earning capacity: If your injuries or anxiety make it impossible for you to resume your current position or force you to retire completely, we can recover that lost salary.
• Miscellaneous accident-related expenses: You may not have known that you can recover out-of-pocket expenses for things like travel to and from doctor and therapy appointments.
• Pain and suffering damages: Car accidents can cause considerable physical and emotional trauma. You may be able to recover compensation for anxiety, emotional distress, post-traumatic stress disorder or other panic disorder, and disfigurement. 

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How Long Do I Have to File for Anxiety Compensation After an Auto Accident?

You have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit, per O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. If you do not file within the allotted two years, you risk recovering nothing. The court will likely dismiss your case, and the insurer will stop negotiating with you as you have no leverage.

The insurance company is likely already fighting tooth and nail against giving you the compensation you need for your anxiety and other accident-related costs and trauma. You don’t want to give it any loophole to get out of paying you what you deserve. Our personal injury lawyers will manage deadlines for you.

Our Team Will Fight for the Compensation You Deserve for Anxiety After a Car Accident

We know how difficult this experience has been, especially knowing that another person’s negligent behavior caused such ongoing distress in your life. You shouldn’t be left paying for those effects. Our team will fight to recover the compensation you need to move forward.

Call Bader Scott Injury Lawyers today to see how we can help you get back to your everyday life.

Our law firm handles cases on a contingency-fee basis, which means you don’t pay us any money upfront and only pay our attorney’s fees if we recover compensation for you.

Call or text (404) 888-8888 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form