If you’ve been injured in an accident and are considering filing a personal injury claim in Florida, you might be wondering how any pre-existing conditions could affect your case. This is a common concern, and for good reason. Pre-existing conditions can complicate personal injury claims, but understanding their impact and knowing how to address them can improve your chances of a fair outcome.
In this guide, we’ll explore the nuances of how pre-existing conditions influence personal injury claims and provide you with the knowledge you need to make this complex aspect of your case clear.
What Are Pre-Existing Conditions?
Pre-existing conditions are health issues or injuries that you had before the accident occurred. These can include a wide range of medical situations, such as:
- Chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, or hypertension
- Previous injuries, such as back problems or old fractures
- Degenerative conditions like osteoporosis or disc degeneration
- Mental health conditions, including depression or anxiety
- Ongoing health concerns like heart conditions or autoimmune disorders
In personal injury cases, these conditions often come under scrutiny because they can affect how your current injuries are evaluated and compensated. It’s crucial to understand that having a pre-existing condition doesn’t disqualify you from seeking compensation, but it does require careful handling of your case.
Why Pre-Existing Conditions Matter
When you file a claim with Miami personal injury attorneys, the defense (usually an insurance company or the at-fault party’s legal team) will look for ways to minimize their liability. One common tactic is to argue that your current symptoms or injuries are primarily due to your pre-existing condition, not the accident in question. This can lead to several challenges:
- Blame Shifting: The defense might try to argue that your pain or limitations are caused by your pre-existing condition rather than the accident. For example, if you had a history of back problems and suffered a back injury in a car accident, they might claim that your current pain is just a continuation of your previous issues.
- Minimizing Damages: They may attempt to reduce the compensation you’re entitled to by claiming your injuries aren’t as severe as you state due to your pre-existing condition.
- Claiming Aggravation Instead of Causation: The defense might argue that the accident only slightly worsened your pre-existing condition rather than causing new injuries.
- Challenging the Necessity of Treatment: In some cases, the defense might question whether all of your post-accident medical treatment was necessary.
Understanding these tactics and having an experienced personal injury attorney by your side, will help you counter them effectively.
Legal Strategies to Protect Your Claim
Fortunately, there are several legal strategies that Miami personal injury lawyers can employ to counter these defense arguments and ensure that your pre-existing conditions don’t unfairly reduce your compensation:
Establishing Aggravation of the Pre-Existing Condition
One of the most effective strategies is to demonstrate that while you may have had a pre-existing condition, the accident significantly worsened it, leading to new or increased pain and limitations. This often involves:
- Detailed Medical Records: Your personal injury lawyer will work to obtain medical records from both before and after the accident. This documentation can show how your condition changed as a result of the incident.
- Diagnostic Tests: Medical imaging (such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans) taken before and after the accident can provide concrete evidence of how your physical condition changed due to the accident.
- Expert Medical Testimony: Medical professionals can provide expert opinions on how the accident impacted your health. They can explain, in medical terms, how your pre-existing condition was affected and why your current symptoms are attributable to the accident rather than your previous condition.
The “Eggshell Plaintiff” Doctrine in Florida
Miami and the whole of Florida follow the “eggshell plaintiff” rule. This legal principle states that the at-fault party must take the victim as they find them. In other words, if your pre-existing condition made you more susceptible to injury, the defendant is still responsible for the full extent of the harm caused, even if someone without your condition would have been less severely injured.
For example, if you had osteoporosis which made your bones more susceptible to fractures, and you suffered multiple fractures in a car accident, the at-fault party would still be responsible for all of your fractures, not just the ones that a person without osteoporosis might have sustained.
The Crucial Role of Medical Experts
Medical experts play a vital role in cases involving pre-existing conditions. They can provide credible, professional opinions on how the accident affected your health. Depending on your case, you might benefit from testimony from:
- Orthopedic Specialists: For musculoskeletal injuries, an orthopedic specialist can explain how the accident impacted your bones, joints, and soft tissues, distinguishing new injuries from pre-existing conditions.
- Neurologists: If you’ve suffered head, spine, or nerve-related injuries, a neurologist can provide expert insight into how these injuries relate to or differ from any pre-existing neurological conditions.
- Rehabilitation Specialists: These experts can assess the long-term impacts of your injuries and explain the need for ongoing care, taking into account how your pre-existing condition affects your recovery process.
- Pain Management Specialists: If chronic pain is an issue, these experts can differentiate between your pre-accident pain levels and your current pain, explaining how the accident exacerbated your condition.
- Mental Health Professionals: In cases where the accident has caused psychological trauma or exacerbated existing mental health conditions, testimony from psychiatrists or psychologists can be crucial.
These experts can help translate complex medical information into terms that judges and juries can understand, strengthening your case significantly.
Don’t Let Pre-Existing Conditions Stand in Your Way
If you’re dealing with a personal injury claim involving pre-existing conditions in Miami, Florida, it’s crucial to have experienced legal representation. At Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, we have extensive experience handling complex personal injury cases, including those involving pre-existing conditions.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Call at 305-371-2692. We’ll work tirelessly to ensure that your pre-existing conditions are properly addressed in your case, aiming to secure the full compensation you need to move forward with your life.