Being involved in a car accident is no joke. A negligent driver can swerve out of nowhere and hit you, causing your car to skid off the road and hit a tree. Fortunately, under state and federal laws, you can file a personal injury claim for any injuries you’ve sustained during a car accident, which entitles you to some form of compensation.
Unfortunately, having a pre-existing condition or injury might complicate your case and make it more challenging to get compensation for damages you’ve sustained during the accident. But with the help of a car accident attorney, you may get a more favorable ruling.
How Can My Pre-Existing Condition Hurt My Personal Injury Claim?
Generally speaking, insurance companies will always try to limit the amount of money they have to pay in personal injury claims cases by limiting or denying altogether any liability in the accident. One way of doing that is by classifying injuries sustained by the aggrieved party as pre-existing conditions and will try to seek medical records to support that claim.
In the event that you already have a pre-existing condition, they will lay all the blame on you and point to your condition as the reason for the accident. Investigators can also look at your medical history and previous insurance claims for evidence of similar injuries sustained in the past to show that your injury is nothing new. Finally, they will argue that the injury pre-dates the accident and cannot be held liable for costs.
What Should I Do to Receive Compensation?
The first and most important thing you need to do is establish credibility. Your credibility is a key factor in a personal injury claim when a pre-existing condition is involved. In order to do that, you must not hide the fact that you had a previous injury during investigations. Instead, disclose the truth to your examiner or adjuster immediately so they can’t use it against you later on. If you have a complicated case, your car accident attorney will find a way to present it in a way that supports your claim.
Next is to take measures to separate your current injury from existing ones. The more distance you can put between your existing injuries and the injuries you’ve sustained during the accident, the higher the likelihood of a successful claim. Provide examiners with complete details on how and when you sustained your previous injuries. Make sure to provide exact details, including body parts affected, pain levels, and any mobility limitations caused by the injury.
Finally, you must be able to prove that liability for the accident doesn’t fall on you. That means showing evidence of the other party’s negligence, which has four basic elements:
- Duty of Care – the obligation to avoid causing harm to others
- Breach of Duty – failure to abide by their legal duty by acting or failing to act accordingly under the circumstances
- Causation – the action or inaction that caused the injury
- Damages – the injuries sustained as a result of the offending party’s actions
To prove the other party’s negligence, you need sufficient evidence to support your statements. With the help of an auto accident lawyer, you can gather proof through photos, witness statements, police or incident reports, and your medical records. If you weren’t taken to the hospital or attended to by emergency personnel after the accident, then you should be subjected to a thorough evaluation immediately.
What Happens When You Can’t Distinguish Between Old and New Injuries?
When old and new injuries appear indistinguishable, then juries will most likely reward you with the full compensation owed for your entire condition. This is true in cases where the defense cannot prove your injuries are pre-existing, even with the help of medical examiners.
But if your car accident lawyer can show that the accident aggravated your pre-existing condition, you are entitled to more compensation. In Texas, the offending party is liable for damages caused by their negligent behavior that led to the “aggravation of a pre-existing condition.”
How Can An Auto Accident Lawyer Help?
When suffering from a pre-existing condition and you got involved in a car accident with a negligent driver, you must seek help from your car accident attorney as soon as possible. Your car accident attorney will help you during the entire claims process to ensure that you receive total compensation for all injuries you’ve sustained during the accident.
After the accident, your auto accident lawyer will help you gain access to medical specialists who will treat you immediately. They will also document the full extent of new injuries while identifying a previous injury to serve as evidence during court proceedings.
Your attorney will also review your medical records, taking careful note of your condition to create a strategy to present them during trial in a way that helps your case.
Furthermore, your attorney will protect your medical records from the insurance company to stop any predatory tactic they can use to not award you with the compensation you deserve. While it is required by law to provide the insurance company with the medical information they need, they will only be granted limited access to information they are legally entitled to review.
Your auto accident lawyer will always look out for your best interests in personal injury claims. An insurance company will do whatever it takes to avoid paying your compensation. But your attorney will offer expert assistance to hold the insurance company responsible for damages. Get the help that you need by contacting a reliable car accident lawyer to assist you.
If you need legal assistance, call one of our offices below to schedule a free consultation:
- Arlington (817) 522-4451
- Dallas (972) 362-6848
- Fort Worth (817) 764-1375
- Plano (972) 354-4602
- Cedar Hill (972) 338-9427
- McKinney (469) 522-3688
- Lewisville (972) 354-4605
- Frisco (972) 725-7681
- Grapevine (817) 835-8677
- Irving (972) 354-4610
- Keller (817) 204-0904
- Garland (214) 572-2251
- Denton (940) 222-4060
- Addison (972) 564-8108
You can also contact us online through our quick contact form.
