Why am I still reacting like the danger is happening right now? PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a mental health condition that can develop after a terrifying or life-threatening event such as a serious crash, assault, fall, explosion, or other trauma. It can cause flashbacks, nightmares, panic, jumpiness, trouble sleeping, anger, avoidance, and a constant sense of danger even after the event is over. PTSD is a real medical diagnosis, not just stress, and it can affect the brain, body, work, and relationships for months or years.

After an injury, PTSD matters fast because symptoms are often missed while everyone focuses on broken bones, surgery, or visible wounds. If the trauma happened in a hydroplaning wreck in the Willamette Valley or after a violent workplace event, early records from a doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist can help connect the condition to the incident. That connection may affect damages, causation, treatment costs, lost income, and pain-and-suffering claims.

In Oregon, PTSD can also affect a workers' compensation case, but mental injury claims face strict rules. Under ORS 656.802, a work-related mental disorder generally must be proven with medical evidence, and the job conditions usually must be the major contributing cause. Waiting too long to seek care can make that proof harder. If PTSD symptoms started after an injury, getting evaluated now may protect both health and a legal claim.