The police report may say the other driver caused the crash, but that is not what decides how much your claim is worth. Fault matters, but so do your damages - including PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, sleep problems, and treatment costs after the wreck.

The insurance company will tell you it "just needs the records" to evaluate your claim. It may also say emotional injuries are hard to verify unless you sign a broad medical release. That sounds routine. Often, it is not.

What is actually true is that the insurer is usually looking for other explanations: prior anxiety, old counseling, family stress, school stress, or anything it can use to argue your symptoms were preexisting or only partly caused by the crash. In Oregon, that matters because of modified comparative fault. If they can push enough blame onto you or minimize the harm, they reduce what they pay. If they somehow prove you were 51% or more at fault, recovery is barred.

After a Bend crash on roads like US-97, Highway 20, or rural routes with grain trucks and farm equipment during harvest, psychological injuries can be very real even if the collision was "low speed" or left little visible damage. Oregon law allows recovery for noneconomic damages like emotional distress in a standard injury claim, and mental health treatment bills are economic damages.

A narrower set of records is usually more appropriate than giving away your entire history. What often helps most is:

• records from the crash forward
• a diagnosis from a licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist
• notes linking symptoms to the crash
• proof of costs, missed school or work, medication, and daily-life changes

If police responded in Bend, the report may come through Bend Police or Oregon State Police, but the report alone will not prove PTSD. Your treatment timeline and provider opinions usually carry more weight than the insurer lets on.

Oregon's general injury lawsuit deadline is usually 2 years from the crash under ORS 12.110, so waiting while the insurer "reviews" broad mental health records can cost time.