A preexisting injury, whether due to prior accident or current health condition may affect your personal injury case in various ways. It may either strengthen your claim or weaken it depending on certain situations.
Though your personal injury lawyer may guide you in a better way, here are certain means by which your preexisting injuries can have a significant impact on your lawsuit.
When Do Accidents Make Your Preexisting Injuries Worse?
In certain cases, personal injuries can worsen or aggravate your prior health conditions. They might even increase your recovery times of the former injuries increasing your pain and suffering. In those cases, you will recover a larger compensation amount.
Your recovery amount will include your medical bills and compensation for lost wages. Moreover, you will also be paid for the mental anguish and sufferings aggravated due to the accident.
The common health scenarios that are aggravated by an injury are:
- Hernias
- Brain injuries
- Back pain or discs problem
- Arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Prior fractures
How Insurance Companies Can Trick You?
Insurance companies of the offender will try their best to:
- Hide the aggravation of your preexisting health issue due to the accident.
- Prove that you are intensifying your injuries.
The insurance companies and lawyer of the other party can trick you into saying that you never had preexisting injuries and record your statements to show as evidence in the court. This ultimately reduces the amount of compensation for your claim.
The Theory Of The Eggshell Doctrine:
The Eggshell doctrine theory is proposed to resolve any dispute that might occur during a lawsuit.
According to the theory, the defendant has to pay for the recovery of the victim if he suffer from any injury due to the accident. Just because the victim already had a medical condition and was predisposed to the injury doesn’t make the defendant less susceptible to pay for his recovery.
Never Hide Your Preexisting Injuries!
The defendants will try their best to hide your preexisting injuries. You have to make sure that you remain honest throughout the case.
Here are some of the ways you can prevent your preexisting injuries from affecting your case:
- Do not speak to the defendant’s lawyer or insurance company.
- Make sure you don’t say anything that might be used against you.
- Provide medical records of your prior injuries.
How Medical Records May Help You
Medical records may act as a piece of solid evidence for your preexisting injuries or health issues. They are documents that will demonstrate how the accident has significantly affected your prior health situations. Also, these records are beneficial to be used by your attorney.
Hire A Professional Attorney For Your Personal Injury!
A personal injury law case is very time-consuming and involves complicated steps. If you file your case without a professional lawyer, chances are that you might not get the compensation you deserve. Therefore, you should always consult a professional personal injury lawyer before you file your lawsuit.
Author Bio: Jerry Wells holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science, who blogs about politics, environment, law, and business management during his free time.
