The Emotional Aftermath of a Wreck -

David W. Craig | April 14, 2025 | After the Crash

Emotional trauma from a serious motor vehicle accident can prevent survivors from moving on and can even slow the healing of physical wounds.

The emotional and psychological distress that crash victims endure must be taken seriously and treated with urgency. Trauma affects each person differently. In some cases, it doesn’t present for months or years after the crash.

Maybe you’ve developed digestive issues, migraines or a hot temper. Maybe chronic pain is keeping you from enjoying activities you used to love. This is where psychological healing comes in.

Trauma, Distress and PTSD After a Crash

Our brains are complex organs. Over the course of our lives, they change and adapt to our circumstances.

When a person experiences a traumatic event — in this case, a serious car or truck wreck — their brains are overwhelmed by adrenaline, fear and pain. Entering “fight or flight” allows us to make it through catastrophic scenarios, but it can also prevent our brains from processing the trauma.

Most crash survivors will be traumatized in some way. One study found that about 28% of injured patients developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder within six months of their accident. Others suffer from anxiety, stress and/or emotional distress.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from a Car Wreck

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, can develop in anyone who has endured near-death, traumatizing circumstances. Psychiatrists can use certain criteria to diagnose PTSD. The symptoms typically fall into four clusters:

Intrusion

Involuntary memories of the traumatic event
Nightmares about the trauma
Flashbacks, or feeling like you’re reliving the event

Avoidance

Avoiding places, people or events that remind you of the trauma
Blocking out memories or thoughts related to the traumatic event

Negative Mood Changes

Feeling guilty, numb or hopeless about what happened
Falling into depression post-accident
Losing interest in previously enjoyable activities

Changes in Reactivity

Becoming jumpy or easily scared after the trauma
Struggling to fall/stay asleep or concentrate
Being unusually angry, impulsive or paranoid

Someone who survived a semi-truck wreck, for example, may avoid driving or even riding in cars. They may have recurring nightmares about the crash, feel panicked when they see a large truck on the road, or lash out at loved ones. If these symptoms appear shortly after a wreck, they are more likely to be diagnosed.

However, if you don’t receive psychiatric treatment soon after your crash, PTSD can wreak havoc on your life years later.

What Worsens PTSD: Risk Factors

A 2009 study said car crashes are “the single leading cause of PTSD in the general population.” Some circumstances make the development of PTSD more likely. Here are some risk factors for a trauma disorder post-accident.

A fatality — particularly the death of a loved one or family member — occurring in or as a result of the crash. Grief and survivor’s guilt can be hard to cope with following a fatal wreck. It is difficult to process that you lived when others died, even if you weren’t the one driving.
Chronic pain resulting from injuries sustained in the crash. Some crash survivors will be in pain for the rest of their lives, preventing them from enjoying old hobbies, playing with their children or moving around easily. This makes depression more likely.
Financial strain from medical bills, lost wages and other damage. A hospital stay, rehabilitation, and/or a lifetime of medical care place financial burdens on crash survivors. This anxiety can combine with the trauma of the wreck and worsen PTSD symptoms.

Trauma Slows the Physical Healing Process

A Psychreg article put it this way: “Addressing the emotional aftermath [of a wreck] is crucial for a full recovery.”

The truth is, even though we treat our mental and physical health as two separate entities, each directly impacts the other — especially when it comes to recovering from a traumatic truck wreck.

Often, people with unresolved emotional trauma experience migraines, digestive issues, fatigue or cardiovascular issues, even years after the trauma occurred.

Physical and mental health affect each other in various ways. Many folks whose injuries prevent them from returning to life as normal become depressed. Survivors with PTSD are less likely to return to work than their non-traumatized counterparts.

When we neglect psychological symptoms, the healing process is interrupted. Post-trauma symptoms like depression and anxiety can evolve into Major Depressive Disorder, panic disorder or PTSD if ignored.

“Injuries are a key factor in negative mental health effects,” a Transportation Research article reported. It went on to say that people with severe or lasting injuries are more likely to experience “negative psychological consequences.”

When our brains are under distress, our bodies’ other systems are thrown off balance. Treating the trauma, teaching our brains that we don’t need to live in a state of fight or flight, is necessary.

Identifying PTSD After a Serious Wreck

For some people, trauma lies dormant for months or years. By the time they realize they’re struggling, they have fallen into deep depression, lost relationships or forgotten what “normal” feels like.

One study on PTSD after severe crashes said, “While injury prevention remains the best approach, the return of injured individuals to pre-injury functional and psychological health should remain a goal of those involved in trauma care.”

This means that medical professionals must encourage crash victims to take their mental health as seriously as their physical health. “There is an urgent need for practical guidelines at the emergency departments and hospitals…for early identification, follow-up, and prevention of these stress disorders,” another study said.

Don’t wait until your symptoms become debilitating.

One of the most common trauma symptoms that crash survivors face is a fear of driving or of being in/around vehicles. This directly impacts their lives and makes it difficult to even leave the house.

This fear is present even in victims who do not suffer from PTSD. Unfortunately, crash victims rarely receive psychological treatment unless the accident was life-threatening. And, until they try to resume life as normal, many victims don’t know the extent of their trauma.

Does Emotional Distress Matter in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

If you have been seriously injured in a truck wreck due to another driver’s recklessness, you must contact a qualified personal injury attorney. The right attorney can help you tackle the recovery process and ease the financial burden of medical treatment.

The everyday person likely has no experience with personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. Here’s what you should know.

A personal injury settlement may be made up of a few types of damages. There are economic damages, which include your medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earning ability, any long-term medical care you may require, damage to your vehicle, etc.

You may have heard of non-economic, or non-monetary damages. Here are some examples:

Pain and suffering
Loss of enjoyment of life
PTSD, depression, anxiety and other emotional distress

A crash with a semi-truck can leave victims with horrible injuries. It can also prevent them from engaging in hobbies, playing with their children, or returning to work. It is crucial that your attorney understands how the crash affected you both physically and emotionally/psychologically.

Is PTSD treatable?

The good news is this: No matter how scared and hopeless you feel, help is available.

After more than 35 years representing the victims of tragic commercial vehicle wrecks, I have seen clients live through the worst-case scenario. Recovery isn’t easy, but it is possible.

Conditions like PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression are being researched more today than ever before. Doctors and psychologists specialize in trauma and can help survivors regain control of their lives.

On an episode of my podcast, After the Crash, I spoke with Tina Elsbury, a licensed clinical social worker who has spent her career studying PTSD and helping patients recover. Tina practices EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a proven method of overcoming traumatic memories. It can be used in tandem with other forms of therapy.

Trauma is a wound like any other. It can be healed. Being proactive and seeking help immediately after your accident is the best way to minimize emotional distress.

Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?

Being in a collision can be a terrifying experience. If you have lost a loved one, are facing years of recovery or aren’t sure how to move forward, reach out to a qualified personal injury or wrongful death attorney as soon as possible.

At Craig, Kelley & Faultless, we have represented victims across the country, with an emphasis on commercial vehicle wreck cases. Crashes caused by semi-truck, dump-truck, 18-wheeler or other heavy truck drivers can be catastrophic.

Our attorneys are licensed to represent clients in several states: Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa and Tennessee. We have built a network of medical experts, psychiatrists, accident investigators and more to get you the treatment and compensation you deserve.

David W. Craig is a nationally recognized truck accident lawyer who 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. He was the recipient of the National Thurgood Marshall “Fighting for Justice” Award for his work helping victims of truck wrecks. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come 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 Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.

The Emotional Aftermath of a Wreck