What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Updated January 24, 2026
A mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, causing flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and avoidance behaviors.
Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a recognized compensable injury in personal injury cases. Symptoms may appear immediately or be delayed. Diagnosis requires symptoms lasting more than a month that significantly impair daily functioning. Treatment includes therapy and medication.
Examples
- 1PTSD following serious car accident
- 2Anxiety and flashbacks after assault
- 3Emotional trauma from witnessing fatality
Related Terms
Whiplash
A neck injury caused by a sudden back-and-forth movement of the head, commonly occurring in rear-end car accidents.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
A disruption in normal brain function caused by a bump, blow, jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury, ranging from mild concussions to severe permanent damage.
Concussion
A mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or jolt to the head that temporarily affects brain function, causing symptoms like headache, confusion, and memory problems.
Soft Tissue Injury
Damage to muscles, ligaments, tendons, or other connective tissues, often caused by trauma, overuse, or sudden movements like those in car accidents.
Herniated Disc
A spinal injury where the soft inner material of a spinal disc pushes through the tough outer layer, potentially pressing on nearby nerves and causing pain, numbness, or weakness.
For Personal Injury cases
The record behind a term like this one is built by the client, not the file.
Quilia asks clients about treatment, appointments and how they are doing, records the answers on the case, and syncs it to Clio, Filevine, MyCase, Neos and more.
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