A day or two later, you start feeling pain in the area of your previous injury and find that the accident aggravated your pre-existing injury. The challenge in these cases is that some insurance companies will argue that the injury had nothing to do with the accident. However, if the accident worsens the injury, the driver and their insurance company should be held responsible, and you should receive a fair pre-existing injury settlement.
It’s essential to address any pre-existing conditions upfront. Attempting to hide them or simply failing to disclose them can undermine your credibility and compromise your claim.
Some common pre-existing conditions include:
- Previous broken bones and fractures
- Chronic migraines or headaches
- Arthritis and other joint injuries
- Spinal and soft tissue injuries, such as herniated disks, degenerative disk disease, torn ligaments, and sprains
- Neurological conditions like fibromyalgia
- Chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart conditions
- Psychological conditions, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety
How Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Your Claim
Insurance companies may attempt to deny a claim or lessen a car accident aggravated pre-existing condition settlement. However, a previous injury does not prohibit you from seeking compensation. It requires you to differentiate between new and exacerbated injuries and demonstrate how they worsened as a direct result of the accident.
Insurance companies will also try to determine how much your pre-existing injury affected you before the incident and compensate you only for the physical or emotional damages that were a direct cause of the accident.
For instance, let’s say you were rear-ended in a car accident that caused a whiplash. Previous to the accident, you experienced some minor pain and stiffness in your neck due to degenerative disc disease and arthritis. Post-accident, the pain has significantly increased, and your range of motion has diminished. You may have trouble sleeping and cannot perform your usual tasks at work. While the negligent driver is not responsible for the discomfort before the accident, they are responsible for aggravating the injury.
In some cases, you may obtain more in a pre-existing injury settlement because the injury you sustained is much greater because of the inherent weakness.
Your best options for obtaining a fair settlement are documents and expert witnesses who can demonstrate the difference between the injuries caused by the accident and those sustained previously.
Proving Your Injuries Despite Pre-Existing Conditions
Your medical records are essential in proving the connection between the car accident and your injuries. Ideally, these should be detailed documentation before and after the accident, demonstrating increased symptoms. For instance, they may show a decrease in your range of motion, and other orthopedic tests may demonstrate a reactivated injury. These records also show if you were receiving treatments and on any pre-accident medications.
Testimony from your doctors about the impact of the accident on your injuries or conditions offers expert testimony that is difficult to negate. While not direct proof, photographs showing the accident’s severity demonstrate the potential impact.
If you led an active life and the accident has affected your ability to play sports, do your job, or perform household activities, the accident did aggravate a pre-existing condition, and you deserve fair compensation.
Communicating with Insurance Companies
- How to disclose pre-existing conditions properly
- Strategies for negotiating with insurers who might downplay your claim
- Dealing with insurance adjusters: Tips for effective communication
This section provides practical advice on handling interactions with insurance companies regarding your pre-existing conditions.
It’s essential to be accurate when reporting your pre-existing conditions to an insurance adjuster. Non-disclosure can jeopardize your entire claim.
Legal Considerations for Pre-Existing Conditions
While your pre-existing condition can make you more susceptible to serious injuries, that doesn’t mean you should not be compensated for them. One of the doctrines that protects your rights is the “eggshell plaintiff” legal theory. Also called the “thin skull rule,” it suggests that even though someone is particularly vulnerable, the person who injured them is still responsible for the damages.
For example, one person may have a normal skull, while another may be much more fragile, like an eggshell. Smacking into a normal skull would have less of an impact than bumping into an eggshell-like skull. In relation to a car accident, this means the at-fault driver is still liable, even if this pre-existing condition made the injuries worse than a person would have normally suffered.
An example that plays out in car accidents is osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bone disease. People with this condition have bones that break very easily and, when in an accident, come out of it much worse than someone without this genetically inherited disease. The defendant, however, is still liable for this person’s treatments, even if a healthier person may not have experienced any injuries.
If you’re in an accident and have pre-existing conditions, it’s often best to obtain the services of a personal injury lawyer who understands the intricacies and laws regarding this condition.
Maximizing Your Settlement
It’s important to document the impact of your accident and the medical expenses associated with your new and aggravated injury. Review your medical bills to determine the cost of the medical expenses. Talk with healthcare professionals who can provide expert testimony about your health before and after the accident. Finally, you’ll need to negotiate with insurance companies to receive the aggravated injury settlement you deserve.
If you’re in a car accident and have a pre-existing condition, obtaining fair compensation can be more complex than with a typical personal injury claim. Many personal injury lawyers offer free consultations and charge on a contingency fee basis. This allows you to speak with them free of charge and obtain their services by paying them a percentage of the settlement they get for you.
Get The Car Accident Injury Compensation You Deserve!
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
You can improve your chances of a fair settlement and strengthen your claim by avoiding these common pitfalls:
- Failing to Disclose: Not mentioning your pre-existing injury or condition may be tempting. Don’t. This will backfire on you every time.
- Failing to Supply Adequate Medical Documentation: Medical records can prove the state of your health before and after the accident. This critical component, along with expert witnesses, serves as the backbone of your case.
- Miscommunication with Insurers: When speaking with an insurance adjuster, you need to lay out all the facts and have the evidence to support them.
Conclusion: Navigating Your Claim with Confidence
The process of ensuring a fair injury settlement after an accident can be overwhelming. When a pre-existing condition is added to the mix, it becomes even more challenging. Remember to speak confidently when addressing an insurance adjuster, state the facts, and have the documents to back up your claim.
Should you need support, consider contacting an attorney who offers a free consultation. They can help you determine the right course of action and the legal laws and precedents to maximize your pre-existing injury settlement.
