Pre-Existing Conditions: How Do They Affect My Personal Injury Case

When you file a claim for compensation for injuries you suffered due to another’s negligence, one of the first things the insurance company for the defendant will do is ask for a copy of your medical records. The company will then comb through your records hoping to find you have a pre-existing condition they can blame for your injuries. Even if you do have a pre-existing condition, our attorneys at Springer & Lyle can still help you as long as you tell us about your prior medical history.

Pre-Existing Conditions: The Eggshell Plaintiff

It has long been the law that defendants take plaintiffs how they find them. In other words, “a defendant is liable for a plaintiff’s unforeseeable and uncommon reactions to the defendant’s negligent or intentional acts.” If plaintiffs are injured more severely than they would have been because of a pre-existing condition, that is just a result the defendant will be stuck with.

One vivid example is if a defendant punches a plaintiff in the stomach and the plaintiff falls to the ground and cannot get up. The plaintiff is now paralyzed for the rest of his/her life. Unbeknownst to the defendant, the plaintiff had a spinal condition that made him/her more vulnerable to attack. Despite the pre-existing spinal condition, the defendant can be be liable for all the injuries that resulted from the stomach punch, including the damages for the lifelong paralysis the plaintiff will suffer.

Of course, not all cases are as clear-cut as the one in the example given. The goal of all insurance companies is to pay as few claims as possible, so they will work diligently to show that your pre-existing condition was the sole reason you are suffering, and the defendant’s negligence had nothing to do with it.

One of our jobs at Springer & Lyle is to work with your treating physicians in order to get as much information as possible on your medical condition prior to the accident and how the accident has caused your condition to be aggravated. We will provide details of how your life was prior to the accident, and how the injury has impacted and changed your life because of it.

The personal injury attorneys at Springer & Lyle can help you obtain the reasonable compensation you are entitled to for your injuries, lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other physical damage. Contact us at 940.387.0404 for a free consultation.