Any health problem you had before the car accident is considered a pre-existing condition. Some of the most common pre-existing conditions include joint problems, such as arthritis, cervical spine conditions or degenerative spinal disorder, and sciatica, herniated discs, or chronic back pain.
If your once-manageable medical condition is now a disabling one, then you’re a good candidate for compensation for the aggravation of a pre-existing condition after a car accident.
An experienced Denver car accident lawyer can evaluate your eligibility for a settlement for an aggravated pre-existing condition.
How collisions aggravate pre-existing conditions
Certain old injuries and medical conditions can easily worsen due to a crash’s impact. If you have joint injuries or have suffered a neck injury or head trauma before, then that part of your body may be already weakened and less able to withstand an impact that wouldn’t leave more than a bruise otherwise.
Some prior injuries can cause significant damage if you’re reinjured in the same place. Repeated head trauma, for example, like a concussion or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), can cause increasingly serious brain damage with each re-injury. For example, if you played contact sports in high school and got a concussion, then suffered another concussion a few years later in a car wreck, the chances of permanent brain damage are higher for you than for someone who did not have a prior injury or pre-existing condition.
If the accident is the root cause of your aggravated injury, and you wouldn’t have suffered a flare-up or re-injury had you not been in the accident, then you can claim damages from the at-fault driver, as long as certain legal conditions are met.
Applying the “eggshell plaintiff rule” in car accident claims
Also referred to as the Eggshell Skull Doctrine, this fundamental legal principle extends protection to car accident victims who are medically fragile due to a pre-existing injury. Essentially, it states that if the plaintiff’s existing medical condition is worsened in the accident, the defendant’s liability is not limited just because the plaintiff was more likely to suffer a serious injury.
Using this principle is critical to understanding how compensation can be extended to pre-existing conditions.
Proving damages for pre-existing conditions
We’ve used the terms “exacerbate” and “aggravate” interchangeably, and while practically, there’s not much difference in how you feel if your injury has been aggravated or exacerbated, there is a bit of distinction that applies in claims of that nature.
- Exacerbating a pre-existing condition refers to a flare-up that does not result in long-term damage, although the victim may be in extreme pain and have limited mobility
- Aggravate refers to the worsening of a pre-existing condition to the point where additional medical attention is required to address the worsened symptoms
To prove that the car accident caused the aggravation or exacerbation, you must prove that it was the direct cause of the worsening of your pre-existing condition. Your medical records are one of the most important pieces of evidence for your claim.
Your lawyer uses the medical records to establish that you have a condition and the degree of your accident injury. Then, your attorney compares your accident records with your medical records, including the exam immediately after the wreck and follow-up appointments to address your re-injury.
Has your pre-existing condition worsened due to a car accident? Let’s talk.
The attorneys at Zara Injury Law have extensive experience litigating complex claims involving aggravation of a pre-existing condition. If you have been in a car accident in Denver, please call us at (866) 823-8288 for a free consultation.