Can Pre-Existing Injuries Impact Car Accident Claims?
Yes, a pre-existing injury does impact a car accident claim in Roseville. However, it does not prevent you from filing one. If a crash aggravated, accelerated, or worsened an existing condition, you may recover compensation for those additional injuries and losses. Insurance companies often dispute these claims, though, which makes strong medical evidence especially important.
The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
Under the eggshell plaintiff rule, the defendant takes the victim as they find them. A negligent driver is responsible for the harm they cause, even if the person they hit was more vulnerable to injury because of a prior medical condition. The law does not require you to have been in perfect health before the crash.
Example: Consider a minor crash involving two different victims. A healthy person recovers in a week. A person with a previous back injury needs surgery after the same impact. The driver may still be responsible for the additional harm caused to the second victim, even though a healthier person would have suffered far less.
How Do Insurance Companies Use Pre-Existing Injuries Against You?
Insurers treat pre-existing conditions as an opportunity to pay less. The moment an adjuster learns you had a prior injury, your claim gets flagged for closer scrutiny, and the company begins building a case that your current problems aren’t the driver’s fault.
Common Arguments Adjusters Make
Most disputes over pre-existing injuries come down to a handful of arguments. The ones you’re most likely to hear include the following.
- Your symptoms existed before the crash: The adjuster claims your pain is old, not new, and points to any prior complaint in your medical records as proof. Even a single doctor’s visit from years ago can become the centerpiece of their argument.
- The accident didn’t make your condition worse: They argue the crash caused no measurable change from your pre-accident baseline, so there’s nothing new to compensate. This argument leans heavily on gaps or inconsistencies in your medical documentation.
- Your treatment is unrelated to the accident: They frame your medical care as treatment for the prior condition rather than the accident, then refuse to pay for it.
- Your condition would have worsened anyway: They claim your decline was inevitable with or without the crash, often citing the natural progression of conditions like arthritis or degenerative disc disease. As they see it, they owe you nothing because you would’ve gotten worse anyway.
Each of these arguments serves the same goal, which is to reduce or deny your compensation.
How Do You Prove the Accident Made Your Condition Worse?
Proving aggravation comes down to showing a clear before-and-after picture. The strongest claims are built on several types of evidence.
- Pre-accident medical records. Records from before the crash establish your baseline, showing exactly what your condition was and how well it was managed.
- Post-accident medical records. New complaints, new diagnoses, and new imaging taken after the collision document how that baseline changed.
- Your treating physician’s opinion. A doctor who connects the worsening directly to the collision is often the single most persuasive piece of evidence.
- Consistent, prompt treatment. Seeking care right away and following through with it shows you’re genuinely experiencing pain or difficulties after the accident.
This evidence is meant to separate the condition you already had from your new harm, which is the line the insurance company is trying to blur.
Talk to a Car Accident Attorney About Your Pre-Existing Injury
Pre-existing injury claims are winnable, but they’re rarely simple. An experienced Roseville truck accident attorney can gather the right medical evidence, counter the insurer’s arguments, and fight for the full value of the harm the crash actually caused. Call us today to schedule your free case evaluation.