If you’ve witnessed a traumatic event at work or dealt with a high stress level, you could develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Over time, the stress can take a toll on your body and break down your physical and mental health.
If you’ve developed PTSD from a stressful or toxic work environment, our team of Indiana personal injury lawyers at Vaughan & Vaughan can help you. Read on to learn how work-related PTSD develops and how our team can help you.
What Is PTSD, and How Can Your Work Cause It?
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychological condition that can occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It can cause lasting emotional and mental distress, affecting various aspects of your life. Work-related experiences can potentially trigger or contribute to the development of PTSD.
The situations that can cause PTSD vary depending on what your day-to-day looks like at work. Here are the most common work situations that can cause you to develop PTSD:
- Experiencing or witnessing violence, accidents, or life-threatening events in the workplace.
- Enduring prolonged periods of intense stress, such as in high-pressure or emotionally demanding jobs.
- Being subjected to workplace harassment, bullying, or discrimination can have significant long-term psychological effects.
What Are Common Symptoms of Work-Related PTSD?
After witnessing a traumatic or stressful event, you’ll likely develop PTSD symptoms. These symptoms can include:
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Feeling on edge at your workplace
- Panic attacks
- Depression
- Feeling emotionally numb
- Avoiding certain aspects of work or work altogether
- Being scared easily
PTSD can take over your life if you don’t seek help in time. There are several options when it comes to treating PTSD. You could see a psychiatrist for medication and a therapist for therapy.
Medication and therapy together are a good way to get back to feeling like yourself again. The medication can calm any physical and mental symptoms, and therapy can help you process the events in a healthy way.
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What Kind of Jobs Can Cause Work-Related PTSD?
Almost any job that a person works can trigger the development of PTSD because of the high-stress levels millions of workers experience on a daily basis. However, some jobs have a higher risk of causing PTSD and other work injuries you can file a claim for. These jobs include:
- First responders: Firefighters, paramedics, and police officers often witness and experience traumatic events, including accidents, violence, and natural disasters. The constant exposure to life-threatening situations can increase the risk of developing PTSD.
- Military personnel: Active-duty military personnel, especially those deployed in combat zones, face significant trauma and are at high risk of developing PTSD. Combat exposure, witnessing injuries or death, and the stress of military operations contribute to the increased likelihood of PTSD among servicemen and servicewomen.
- Healthcare professionals: Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who work in emergency departments, intensive care units, or trauma centers frequently encounter distressing and traumatic situations. Treating patients who have experienced severe injuries, illnesses, or violence can contribute to the development of PTSD.
- Disaster response workers: Individuals involved in disaster response and recovery efforts, such as search and rescue teams, humanitarian aid workers, and volunteers, may be exposed to traumatic scenes, devastation, and human suffering. The overwhelming nature of these events can lead to PTSD.
- Journalists and war correspondents: Professionals reporting from conflict zones or covering traumatic events may witness violence, suffering, and disturbing scenes. Exposure to chronic stress and trauma can contribute to the development of PTSD.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help When You Have Work PTSD?
We understand the psychological pain you may be going through after you’ve suffered PTSD from your line of work. Our team of Indiana personal injury attorneys can help you get the help and compensation you need. Here’s how our team at Vaughan & Vaughan can help you:
Free Consultation
We work on a contingency fee basis, which means we can sit down and listen to your story free of charge. We’ll learn about your situation so we can develop a legal strategy to help you. We’ll answer your questions about your case and help you understand our legal process.
In addition to legal advice, we can suggest some resources that can help you cope with your work-related PTSD. While we handle your case, we want you to relax.
Determine the Liable Parties
Another thing we can help you with if you have work-related PTSD is holding the proper parties liable. When you develop PTSD from your work environment, there are several parties that could be accountable:
- Employers: They are responsible for providing a safe work environment and protecting employees from foreseeable harm.
- Co-workers: Those who engage in harassment, bullying, or discrimination that contributes to a hostile work environment.
- Third parties: Individuals or entities whose actions or negligence lead to traumatic events (e.g., robberies, assaults).
- Supervisors and managers: They have a duty to ensure employee well-being and may be liable for subjecting employees to trauma or failing to provide support.
- Manufacturers or equipment providers: They can be liable if their defective products or inadequate safety measures lead to traumatic incidents.
- Security companies: Liable if their inadequate security measures contribute to traumatic events.
Gather Evidence
We can help you with one of the most important aspects of any legal case: gathering evidence. Our law firm has over 100 years of experience, and we’re ready to put it to work for you. We can help you gather valuable evidence such as security camera footage, photos of any other injuries, witness statements, medical records, and cell phone records.
After we’ve gathered the evidence, our team can help you compile it and build a strong case that results in you recovering the compensation you need. When you meet with our team for your free case evaluation, we’ll go over what specific damages you could recover through a lawsuit.
Learn How We Can Help You With Your Work-Related PTSD Case
If your work environment has led to a diagnosis of PTSD, our team at Vaughan & Vaughan can help you. Contact us to learn more about how we can support you and fight for your rights to compensation.
