Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After Truck Accidents: Legal Rights in Green Bay Personal Injury Claims

 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a truck accident can have devastating psychological impacts that extend far beyond physical injuries. Victims often experience flashbacks, severe anxiety, sleep disturbances, and persistent fears about driving or riding in vehicles. In Green Bay, where heavy truck traffic serves the city's industrial and shipping sectors, these accidents can be particularly traumatic due to the massive size disparity between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. PTSD symptoms may prevent victims from returning to work, maintaining relationships, or resuming normal daily activities. When pursuing a personal injury claim, both the immediate psychological trauma and long-term mental health consequences must be considered. This can include costs of psychological treatment, therapy sessions, medication, lost wages due to inability to work, and diminished quality of life. The complexity of proving PTSD in legal proceedings often requires expert testimony from mental health professionals and detailed documentation of symptoms and their impact on daily functioning.

Legal Rights and Considerations

Wisconsin follows a modified comparative negligence rule, allowing victims to recover damages if they are 50% or less at fault. Claims involving PTSD must be filed within Wisconsin's three-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases. Commercial truck insurance policies typically carry higher coverage limits than personal auto insurance, often $750,000 or more for interstate carriers. Compensation may include economic damages (medical bills, therapy costs, lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress). Wisconsin has no cap on compensatory damages in truck accident cases. However, punitive damages, if applicable, are limited to twice the compensatory damages or $200,000, whichever is greater. A Green Bay trucking crash lawyer will handle all aspects of the legal claim.

If you've been injured in a truck accident, it is likely that you were riding in another vehicle, and the at-fault truck driver could have engaged in any number of dangerous behaviors that resulted in serious injuries. Click the links below to get help from an attorney who specializes in your type of accident or injury:

Related Resources

Local Courts:

  • Brown County Circuit Court
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin (Green Bay Division)

Support Services:

  • Bellin Psychiatric Center
  • Brown County Crisis Center
  • Aurora BayCare Behavioral Health
  • PTSD support groups at Aurora Medical Center

Legal References:

  • Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 893 (Limitations of Actions)
  • Wisconsin Commercial Driver's Manual
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

Return to the Green Bay truck accident information page

Most recent accident reports

he early hours of New Year's Day 2025 saw a significant traffic incident on Interstate 41 near Wrightstown, Wisconsin, causing major disruptions to holiday travel.

Date: 
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Roadway: 
Interstate 41
Type: Car Accident

In the early morning hours of Sunday, December 29, 2024, a serious single-vehicle accident occurred in Buchanan, Wisconsin, resulting in life-threatening injuries to a 26-year-old Brillion man.

Date: 
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Roadway: 
County Trunk Z

A serious hit-and-run collision involving multiple vehicles occurred on Saturday evening in Green Bay's east side business district, resulting in five injuries and extensive property damage.

Date: 
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Roadway: 
Main Street
Type: Car Accident
Topics: 
Hit and Run

In a concerning development highlighting the ongoing challenges of impaired driving enforcement, Wisconsin State Patrol officers arrested Gary Patrick Kelly, a 63-year-old Greenville resident, for his fourth

Date: 
Saturday, December 28, 2024

On the evening of December 28, Wisconsin State Patrol demonstrated their continued vigilance in combating impaired driving when they arrested David Rojas, a 37-year-old Menasha resident, for his fourth Opera

Date: 
Saturday, December 28, 2024

A tragic single-vehicle accident in the Town of Chase, Oconto County, claimed the life of a 29-year-old Pulaski man and injured a 4-year-old boy on Wednesday morning.

Date: 
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
City: 
Chase, WI
Type: Car Accident

Christmas Day Hit-and-Run Under Investigation in Kewaunee, Wisconsin

Date: 
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Type: Car Accident
Topics: 
Hit and Run

A tragic crash in Marinette County claimed the life of 25-year-old Chase M. Cutty of Crivitz on Tuesday evening. The incident occurred around 7:35 p.m.

Date: 
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Type: Car Accident

 

A devastating single-vehicle collision in Lebanon Township, Waupaca County, resulted in one fatality and one serious injury on Wednesday night.

Date: 
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Roadway: 
Buelow Road
Type: Car Accident

High-Speed Police Chase Ends in Multiple Collisions, Manhunt in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin

A dramatic overnight pursuit in Fond du Lac County ended with a 35-ye

Date: 
Wednesday, December 18, 2024

 

A late-night police pursuit in Winnebago County concluded with the arrest of a suspected impaired driver operating a stolen vehicle.

Date: 
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Roadway: 
I-41

In a tragic early morning incident on Saturday, December 14, 2024, two Shawano County residents lost their lives in a severe single-vehicle crash in the Town of Lessor.

Date: 
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Roadway: 
Landstad Road

A devastating head-on collision on Highway 45 near County Highway Y in the town of Auburn, Fond du Lac County, resulted in the death of a 26-year-old West Bend man and left a 16-year-old Campbellsport girl w

Date: 
Friday, December 13, 2024
Roadway: 
Highway 45
Type: Car Accident
Topics: 
Head-on crash

 

A dangerous police pursuit through Fond du Lac, Wisconsin concluded with a collision and arrest on Friday afternoon. The incident began around 4 p.m.

Date: 
Friday, December 13, 2024
Type: Car Accident

 

In a dramatic incident on West Capitol Drive in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, two individuals sustained significant injuries after their vehicle crashed into a residen

Date: 
Monday, December 9, 2024
Type: Car Accident

In a tragic early morning crash on Thursday, a 59-year-old Waupun man lost his life when a northbound tractor-trailer crossed the center line of Wisconsin Highway 26 near Ripon.

Date: 
Thursday, December 5, 2024
City: 
Ripon, WI

A multi-vehicle collision occurred just before 7:45 AM on Thursday at the I-41 northbound off-ramp at West Mason Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin, prompting temporary closures and traffic diversions.

Date: 
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Roadway: 
I-41 ramp

A semi-truck carrying an oversized load struck the Highway 172 bridge on Riverside Drive in Green Bay on Monday morning, causing moderate structural damage but no injuries.

Date: 
Monday, December 2, 2024