If you lived with a pre-existing condition before an accident, you may be wondering if you have a claim. For example, let’s say you have a bad back. Then, you are involved in a car accident, which worsens your back issues. An insurance company may try to claim that your pain was pre-existing before the accident, and that they do not need to cover medical expenses for you, as the pain you feel now was not related to your accident. However, as a personal injury lawyer can explain, if you are injured in an accident, you may be owed compensation, even if you have a pre-existing condition.
The Law Takes You As It Finds You
According to the law, the person who injures you may owe you for the full harm they caused, regardless of a pre-existing condition. So, if your back ached from arthritis before the accident, then after the accident, you have to have spinal surgery; the at-fault driver can be responsible for the surgery, recovery, missed work, and even the pain it causes. Of course, the path to compensation looks different depending on where you live and the coverage you carry. But the defense is not able to argue that you should have been healthier before the accident.
This is what is called the eggshell plaintiff rule, also known as “take your victim as you find them.” The reason it works this way comes down to foreseeability. A negligent driver who crashes their car into yours should foresee causing something like a back injury. However, they don’t have to foresee that you had a bad back, possibly due to something like a slipped disc.
You Are Owed For What Changed
The at-fault driver does not owe you for something you had before an accident, such as arthritis. What the driver does owe you for is the difference between how you were functioning the day before the crash, compared to how you are functioning now.
The goal of the insurance company is to show that your current condition of pain was happening before the accident. They will do this by pulling records such as old X-rays to prove degeneration had already started occurring, so the accident was not the cause. Notice the insurance company is not claiming the driver did nothing wrong. Instead, it is arguing over how much of your current condition the driver is responsible for.
At this point, your old medical records will help show when your condition started. They can also provide a baseline showing that you were working, driving, and walking. This also means that you need to continue to seek follow-up treatment regularly after an accident so that it is documented; this is always important, but, as our friends at Cohen & Cohen can share, it is even more important in cases where a pre-existing condition comes into play. An insurance company will also try to exploit gaps in your treatment to claim your injuries are not that bad; they will argue that if your injuries were truly bad, you would keep going to the doctor regularly. That is why it is best to continue with scheduled treatments.
Don’t Take Your Adjuster’s Word For It
There have been many cases in which an injured party has spoken to the insurance adjuster. The adjuster tells them over the phone that a pre-existing condition will disqualify their claim. They then proceed to abandon their case. That is not the law, and it is not a reason to walk away from your claim. Do not take your adjuster’s word for it. Instead, contact an attorney located near you for help immediately with your case to help you get the compensation you deserve.