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How do you explain an injury no one can see and what happens when proving its impact puts your entire life under scrutiny?

In this episode of Dr. Lawyer Breakdown, medical doctor and attorney Joseph Ramos explores post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through the perspectives of medicine and law.

The conversation examines how PTSD is diagnosed, research into its effects on the brain, and the ways trauma can disrupt everyday activities, relationships, and work. Dr. Ramos also shares his perspective on why PTSD claims can be difficult to present to a jury and how someone’s employment history, relationships, and past experiences can become part of the courtroom discussion.

Topics include:

• The difference between everyday stress and PTSD
• Flashbacks, avoidance, and changes in mood and behavior
• Brain research versus the requirements for a clinical diagnosis
• PTSD following a car crash and the role of prior trauma
• Skepticism surrounding injuries that aren’t immediately visible
• The challenges of explaining lost income, pain and suffering, and lasting impairment

Plus, Dr. Ramos answers a listener’s question about choosing emergency medicine and closes with a memorable story from a predawn hike in Hawaii.

Subscribe to Dr. Lawyer Breakdown for more conversations at the intersection of medicine, law, and everyday life.

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