The effects of a car accident ripple out far into a survivor’s life, even after the broken bones heal and the stitches are removed. One of the major areas where car accidents wreak havoc is the survivor’s mental well-being.
Concentration After a Car Crash
For instance, a common and destructive consequence of car accidents is difficulty focusing. Concentration after a car crash can tank for a number of reasons; the most serious cause is traumatic brain injury, or TBI. A post-crash TBI can lead to confusion, lack of focus, and difficulty completing simple tasks. For many people, lack of concentration could mean the loss of their job, or even their career.
The other symptoms of a TBI include:
- Sleep trouble
- Difficulty with recall
- Anger, irritability, or general emotional deregulation
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Coordination problems (looks like clumsiness)
- Difficulty processing sensory input (i.e., light and noise)
TBI can affect your ability to earn a living even without the ER doctors noticing it. The cumulative effects of a TBI may not be clear until weeks or months after the accident. Read our blog for more information: Signs of a Brain Injury After a Car Accident.
Car Crashes & Anxiety
The American Academy of Family Physicians points out another cause for the symptoms above: post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Difficulty sleeping, general anxiety, irritability, trouble sleeping, and difficulty focusing are also the effect of PTSD. Just like TBI, PTSD can lead to the loss of someone’s job and financial stability in the weeks and months after an accident, and like TBI, the effects of PTSD may not be immediately evident to the survivor or their doctors.
Car Crashes & Trouble Sleeping
Regardless of whether you’re dealing with PTSD or TBI, there’s another serious but underreported side-effect of car accidents: the increased likelihood of a future accident due to loss of sleep. We’ll explain: NHTSA research shows that drowsy driving might be responsible for up to 1 in 5 car fatal crashes. A study on fatigue and driving performance showed that being awake for 24 hours affected driving the same as being drunk.
In short, sleep deprivation due to car accident injury actually makes you more likely to suffer a grievous car accident in the future.
Call a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer Today
Let’s be frank: serious car accidents are terrifying. The terror and trauma of those few seconds of impact, no matter how short, can impact the rest of our lives. That’s why Handler, Henning & Rosenberg has been advocating for car accident survivors since 1922, winning tens of millions for our clients so they can move on with their lives.
If you’re dealing with the ramifications of a serious collision, call our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers. We can talk about your options in a free consultation and help you figure out what to do next.
Call (888) 498-3023 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.