Insurance companies are businesses. Businesses that are all about their bottom line. This means that if you are injured in an accident, whether it be a car accident or a slip and fall, be prepared for a fight to get the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies will use any excuse they can cling to in order to undermine your claim or say that your whole claim is invalid.
One popular way for insurance companies to try and get out of paying is to say that what the victim already had the pain or condition that they are claiming was the result of an accident. The insurance company will claim the injury was a pre-existing injury or pre-existing condition and not one that was caused by the accident. If it was solely a pre-existing condition, the insurance company does not have to pay for it.
Pre-Existing injuries and Your Personal Injuries Case
Back pain, old sports injuries, and other medical conditions affect many. This does not mean that you are not entitled to compensation should you be injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. The Eggshell Doctrine addresses just such a situation. This doctrine, put plainly, means that you take the victim as you find them. Just because a personal injury victim had a pre-existing condition or a pre-existing condition that made them more susceptible to further injury, does not mean the insurance company can get out of paying.
Under the Eggshell Doctrine, an injury victim should still be entitled to compensation if the pre-existing condition was stable and there was no reason for the victim to think that his or her condition would change had it not been for the accident. The Eggshell Doctrine frequently comes up in cases where an accident aggravated a pre-existing condition, especially when the pre-existing condition made the individual more susceptible to further injury.
Sometimes a pre-existing condition makes it so an accident causes great harm to the person, but would not necessarily have caused great harm to someone without the pre-existing condition. In these cases, insurance companies frequently blame the pre-existing condition and use it as a way to try and deny a claim or offer a lower settlement offer. To make things very clear, an insurance company cannot deny payment for an injury caused by an accident just because you had a pre-existing condition.
Any harm caused by the accident should be compensated by the insurance company. The problem then becomes proving that an accident caused an injury or an exacerbation of a pre-existing condition. The insurance company is only on the hook for paying for harm caused by the accident. This means that you must be able to show, through medical evidence, that your injury is new or your pre-existing condition was made worse because of the injury.
To do this, you will need past medical records that are relevant to your current injury. It would also be a good idea to get evaluated by the same doctor that treated you in the past. That way that doctor could clearly compare your state of health before and after the accident. Also, be very clear with your treating physicians regarding your symptoms and what feels different after the accident. Make sure your doctors make detailed notes about all of this.
Personal Injury Attorney
Unfortunately, the injured commonly find that an insurance company will not pay them what they are owed. This is one more thing that an injury victim does not need to deal with after the stress of being injured in an accident. That is why Dickman Law Office is here to take up the fight. We do not back down from insurance companies trying to get out of paying what a person is rightfully entitled to. Contact us today.
Posted in: Personal Injury