Using Mental Health Professionals to Maximize Damages in Personal Injury Cases
| Publication year | 1986 |
| Pages | 2009 |
1986, November, Pg. 2009. Using Mental Health Professionals to Maximize Damages in Personal Injury Cases
This article discusses why personal injury attorneys often fail to maximize damages for the adverse psychological effects of accidents; how to tell which clients may have an accident-related psychological disorder; how to encourage a client to see a mental health professional and how to choose one; and how to use expert opinion in maximizing damages.
Traumatic injuries and their aftermath, including chronic pain, disabilty and disfigurement, commonly cause various forms of anxiety and depression.(fn1) Such negative consequences can be predicted by prominent theories of human behavior.(fn2) Despite the frequency of psychological disorders resulting from physical injuries and their aftermath, many attorneys do not seem to understand and use the full weight of such consequences in settling and trying personal injury cases. The problem appears to be that attorneys either do not recognize the psychological consequences or have no expertise regarding them.
Attorneys can miss the signs of accident-related psychological disorders because a client does not recognize the problems, is too embarrassed to mention them or does not realize they are accident-related. Attorneys may not notice the problems because many psychologically disturbed individuals do their best to act appropriately when dealing with lawyers. Also, few lawyers actively look for signs of psychological problems. Similarly, physicians and chiropractors sometimes have very little training or interest in psychological problems and therefore miss obvious signs. Family members often have a more accurate view of the psychological problems caused by the accident.
Attorneys can often identify psychological effects of injuries by questioning clients about common symptoms of the psychological disorders most likely to result from physical injuries and their aftermath. These disorders are depression or dysthymia (mild depression), generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and panic disorder. All of these are explained in detail in the...
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