Do Pre-Existing Injuries Affect My Current Personal Injury Claim?

If you were already injured or suffering from a health issue before being involved in a personal injury accident, your preexisting condition may affect your personal injury claim. Below, you can learn about how preexisting injuries can impact the potential success of your claim for compensation.

If you or a loved one is currently pursuing a personal injury claim and has a preexisting condition, it is vital to contact a knowledgeable New Jersey personal injury lawyer at Lynch Law Firm, PC for assistance. During a free consultation, we can explain how the preexisting injury can impact your claim, why the insurance agency may use it to discredit your current injuries and how we can help you present an effective case under these circumstances.

What is a Preexisting Injury?

A preexisting injury is an injury that an accident victim already had before the current accident. The old injury could have been due to another accident or health problem.

Oftentimes, preexisting injuries can become aggravated due to an injury to the same part of the body. Aggravation can increase pain and suffering and push back your recovery time. This can keep the victim from working as he or she needs treatments like physical therapy to learn how to use a limb or muscle again.

Common conditions that become aggravated by a personal injury accident include the following:

Accident victims with preexisting illnesses who file injury claims should know insurance companies will likely try to deny their claim by saying the new symptoms are a result of the preexisting condition. Victims will need to provide evidence that the new accident aggravated the preexisting injury to have a chance of recovering compensation.

What is the Eggshell Doctrine?

When a person suffers injury in a car accident, slip and fall, or any other type of accident that aggravates a preexisting condition, his or her attorney may cite the Eggshell Doctrine when explaining why he or she is owed compensation.

According to this legal principle, the defendant must take the plaintiff (accident victim) as he finds him. If the plaintiff is particularly susceptible to injury, he or she still has a right to recover compensation for the injuries suffered. In the context of an accident claim associated with a preexisting injury, the defendant is still liable for any additional harm he or she caused the plaintiff. He or she is not free from this liability just because the accident victim had a preexisting injury that made further injury more likely.

Set Up a Legal Consultation Today

When you or a loved one has sustained a new injury at the hands of another party, you should consider contacting Lynch Law Firm, PC to help you through each step in the legal process and work to protect the value of your claim. We will launch a thorough investigation to determine who is at fault, assess the extent of your damages and how your existing injury was aggravated by the new injuries suffered in the accident.

We are available to discuss the details of your case during a free consultation. There is no obligation when you call or visit. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you will not be charged any upfront fees. We only get paid if we are successful securing compensation for your claim.

Call us today at (800) 518-0508 to get started.