Motor vehicle accidents happen every day, whether they involve passenger cars or commercial motor vehicles, like semi-trucks. While people can sustain a wide variety of physical injuries from these crashes, there can also be psychological effects.
One potential psychological consequence of a wreck is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This condition is characterized by the persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event, in this case a wreck, avoidance behaviors, and negative changes in mood and cognition. While PTSD is commonly caused by road collisions, it can go unnoticed as a major issue following an accident, due to addressing physical injuries first.
Based on a study published in 2025, there is a prevalence of PTSD among 26% of motor vehicle accident survivors globally. Although it is crucial to seek medical attention for physical injuries immediately after a wreck, addressing potential psychological injuries is just as important.
What Is PTSD and How Can It Affect Truck Accident Victims?
PTSD is classified as an anxiety disorder that typically manifests after a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death, serious injury, or threat to the physical wellbeing of oneself or others. This condition arises as a delayed response to an exceptionally threatening event, and can be categorized by episodes of the following:
- Intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares
- Emotional numbness and detachment
- Avoidance of trauma-related situations
- Automatic hyperarousal, including hypervigilance, insomnia, and an exaggerated startle response.
Other common co-occurring symptoms of PTSD can include anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Without effective intervention and treatment within a timely manner, PTSD can cause enduring consequences for crash survivors, mainly disrupting social relationships and ability to function in daily life. This can impair one’s quality of life, as well as affect the person’s family and friends due to strained relationships, caregiving burdens, and potential inability to work. Furthermore, PTSD that is left untreated can make those experiencing it more likely to suffer from substance use disorders, when compared with the general population, as a form of self-medication.
How PTSD Is Diagnosed After a Traumatic Truck Accident
Due to the high prevalence of PTSD following a motor vehicle accident, it is important to be screened for the condition following a wreck. This screening includes a short list of questions regarding your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors after experiencing a motor vehicle accident.
If a physician determines that the screening indicates potential PTSD, then they will follow up with a more in-depth assessment. During the assessment, patients are asked about the traumatic event and any difficulties they have had since the event. Patients may need to complete surveys with more questions about their thoughts and feelings. The physician might also ask to speak with a partner or family members about what they have observed about the patient. They could also assess physical health issues affected by the trauma.
This assessment will be conducted in the form of either structured interviews or self-report questionnaires. The questionnaire is often used to support information provided during an interview. An interview will focus more on determining how often a patient has PTSD symptoms and how intense they are. A questionnaire focuses on how often symptoms occur over a period of time and can be used to see how symptoms change over time, especially when going through treatment.
How PTSD Is Treated and Managed After a Serious Truck Crash
Once a patient has been diagnosed with PTSD, the condition is typically treated through several different forms of talking therapies.
One option is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This talking therapy is aimed at helping patients manage PTSD by changing how one thinks and acts. Trauma-focused CBT involves a variety of psychological techniques to help patients come to terms with their trauma. This could include being asked to face traumatic memories by describing the experience in detail.
Throughout the process, the therapist helps patients cope with distress that is felt while also identifying any beliefs the patient may hold about the experience that could be unhelpful for recovery. Additionally, the therapist will help patients gain control over their fear and distress by reviewing conclusions the patient has drawn, such as feeling they are to blame or fear it will happen again. Patients may also be encouraged to gradually restart activities they have been avoiding since the trauma, like driving a vehicle again after a wreck.
Another option is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). This is a psychological treatment that can reduce the symptoms of PTSD. Patients are asked to recall the traumatic event in detail as they make eye movements, typically by following the movement of the therapist’s finger. Another method could be the therapist tapping their finger or playing sounds. While it is not clear how EMDR works, it may help patients change the negative thoughts they have about a traumatic experience.
Some patients with PTSD may be prescribed antidepressants to help treat their condition if talk therapy is not the best treatment option. Other situations where antidepressants are prescribed for PTSD could include if psychological treatment would not be effective because of an ongoing threat of further trauma, the patient has gained little benefit from psychological treatment, or the presence of an underlying medical condition that affects the ability to benefit from psychological treatment, such as severe depression.
Suffering from PTSD or Other Injuries After a Truck Wreck? Craig, Kelley & Faultless Can Help
Attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless are prepared and have the experience to help victims and their loved ones involved in commercial vehicle wrecks through every aspect of their case. Both attorneys David W. Craig and Scott A. Faultless are board-certified in truck accident law by the NBTA, accredited by the American Bar Association. The firm also has a rapid response team that works with investigators, reconstructionists and mechanics who immediately collect evidence as soon as the firm is hired.
Their team-centered approach puts client needs at the forefront, and several attorneys will work on your case to achieve the best possible outcome.
Reach out for a free case consultation today at (888) 253-5198 or online.
David W. Craig is board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, accredited by the American Bar Association in Truck Accident Law. He sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families and It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney, both written to help people navigate what comes next after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.
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