Late psychiatric consequences in disability patients injured in traffic accidents

INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to describe the late psychiatric consequences in road traffic accidents (RTAs) victims who were referred to us for disability examination months or even years after the injury, and to evaluate according to to the civil and penal laws in force in Turkey.
METHODS: A retrospective examination was made of the files sent by the courts to the expert committee chaired by the authors for the determination of applicants’ disability rate over the 7-year period between 2014 and 2020.
RESULTS: Of 774 victims of RTA, 3.6% (n=28) had late psychiatric outcomes, including 1.9% post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE), 1.0% post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 0.6% frontal lobe syndrome (FLS). The 28 cases comprised 18 males and 10 females with a mean age of 25.6±14.4 years. Of these patients, 10 were pedestrians, 12 were passengers and 6 were drivers. Disability rates ranged from 5% to 90% in the patients with PTE, were 40% or 60% in patients with PTSD, and were 25% or 40% in patients with FLS.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In patients who have been exposed to serious traumas such as RTAs, providing psychiatric support during or after medical treatment is of undeniable importance for the patient’s full health. In addition, this support, which will be included in the medical records, will prevent much loss of rights of the victims in countries that do not have regular psychological examination records.