Commentary on "Body and Soul: How Neuroimaging Should Revise Tort Perspectives on PTSD"

In "Body and Soul: How Neuroimaging Should Revise Tort Perspectives on PTSD," author Alexandra Midler addresses head-on the old distinction in law between physical and emotional injury. Midler correctly notes that tort law has traditionally prioritized physical over emotional injury. Midler uses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as an example of a disease that can span both physical and emotional injury. Midler's article is an important and much needed addition to the emotional versus physical injury debate. The focus on PTSD is particularly telling considering the number of people suffering from the disease worldwide. I argue that neuroscience and related disciplines continue to advance, breaking down some of the traditional barriers between physical and emotional harm. It is about time that tort law caught up with these advances.