Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

When soldiers return home from war to suffer from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, they are not the only ones to suffer.

According to recent accounts, between 286,000 and 520,000 of the 2.6 million military men and women who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan may be suffering from PTSD. A 2012 Defense Department study found that only 54 percent of service members who screened positive for psychological health needs or traumatic brain injury in post-deployment health assessments went for subsequent treatment.

When PTSD goes untreated, it can lead to a plethora of problems. Failed marriages, suicide attempts, criminal activity and violent behavior are among the many dangerous things that PTSD can lead its sufferers to do. Friends and family members of veterans are often left to try to pick up the pieces of these fractured lives and find psychological or legal assistance.

To read a recent article about the effects of PTSD on one family, click on the following link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/military-marriages_n_3511780.html

If you find yourself picking up the pieces from a loved one suffering from PTSD, who may have delved into criminal activity as a result of the disorder, there is special legal assistance waiting for you. If you need or a family member need criminal defense in civilian or military court, call the Law Offices of John L. Calcagni, III, at 401-531-5100 for a free consultation to learn about your options.
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The Law Office of John L. Calcagni, III offers clients representation in the areas of Criminal Defense, Military Defense, Federal Criminal Defense, OUI Defense in MA , Assault and Battery and all criminal matters.

Please call (401) 351-5100 to arrange for a free consultation about your case or visit our website at www,CalcagniLaw.com

If you cannot make it to one of our offices, we will to come to your home or detention center.

Suicide Among U.S. Military Veterans

Twenty-two U.S. Military Veterans kill themselves each day, according to recent statistics. 

Many of these suicide victims were sufferers of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder., a condition brought on by the atrocities of war.

One of these recent victims, Daniel Somers, an Iraq war veteran, left a suicide note, which his family shared with the media in Phoenix, subsequently prompting the suicide letter to spread virally on the internet.

“Too trapped in a war to be at peace, too damaged to be at war,” reads an excerpt from Somers’ letter.

His parents says that this is PTSD speaking, not their son.

Somers was a sergeant in an intelligence unit, where he ran 400 combat missions as a machine gunner in the turret of a Humvee. According to his parents, Howard and Jean Somers, their son was diagnosed with PTSD, a brain injury, Gulf War syndrome, fibromyalgia and a host of other medical problems in 2008, one year after the end of his second deployment.

Sadly, suicide is not the only terrible problem plaguing veterans who return home from combat.

PTSD not only can cause these former soldiers to take their own lives, but to take the lives others, or to behave in other dangerous and criminal ways.

To read more about Sergeant Daniel Somers, click on the following link:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/06/us/soldier-suicide-note/index.html

If you or someone you know suffers from PTSD and as a result, needs criminal defense in civilian or military court, call the Law Offices of John L. Calcagni, III, at 401-531-5100 for a free consultation to learn about the options.

A former prosecutor with the U.S. Army JAG Corps and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, John Calcagni is experienced in the prosecution and defense of all types of criminal cases and provides defense for those accused of federal and or crimes.

As a Military Defense Attorney, John Calcagni, is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, as well as the state and federal courts in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Florida.

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Please call (401) 351-5100 to arrange for a free consultation about your case or visit our website at www,CalcagniLaw.com

If you cannot make it to one of our offices, we will to come to your home or detention center.

New Book Chronicles Stories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Military

A new book chronicles dramatic stories of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, in the military. In her book Fields of Combat, author Erin Finley describes the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans living with PTSD. In researching the book, Finley interviewed more than 60 veterans in various positions in the U.S. Military.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 10 to 18 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans may suffer form post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms of PTSD include sleeplessness, anxiety, anger and a feeling of isolation. These symptoms often go untreated as a result of the negative stigma associated with mental health disorders, particularly for military servicemen. When PTSD symptoms become extreme, the illness can lead individuals to self medicate with illegal substances, act out violently and dangerously or in some cases, cause attempts of suicide.

To read more about the book Fields of Combat, please click on the following link:

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136895807/the-profound-daily-struggle-of-soldiers-with-ptsd

If you need criminal defense in civilian or military court, call the Law Offices of John L. Calcagni, III, at 401-531-5100 for a free consultation to learn about your options.

A former prosecutor with the U.S. Army JAG Corps and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, John Calcagni is experienced in the prosecution and defense of all types of criminal cases and provides defense for those accused of federal and or crimes.

As a Military Defense Attorney, John Calcagni, is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, as well as the state and federal courts in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Florida.
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For more information, please visit our website at www,CalcagniLaw.com

If you cannot make it to one of our offices, we will to come to your home or detention center.