How Does A Pre-Existing Condition Affect a Personal Injury Claim?
Anyone may be suddenly and unexpectedly injured, and not only in a traffic accident. You could sustain a dog bite or slip on spilled liquid at a grocery store, and a serious personal injury could be the result. If this happens to you, arrange to speak with an Austin personal injury attorney.
If you submit an injury claim to an at-fault party's insurance company, that company will likely ask you about any pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. Of course, almost every adult deals with some longstanding injury or persistent medical condition.
When an insurance company can prove that your injury happened before the accident in question – at another time and place – and that their policyholder was not negligent, the company will not be required to compensate you.
After an Accident, How Can You Be Compensated?
Every Texas driver is legally required to carry auto insurance, but the Texas Department of However, you may recover compensation after an accident – even if you have a pre-existing medical condition or injury – if that condition or injury was exacerbated by the accident. Still, you and your lawyer must prove the accident directly caused the decline in your health.
If you are injured in Texas by any negligent, reckless, or intoxicated person or persons in any accident, you should have – as quickly as possible – the guidance, insights, and representation that an Austin personal injury attorney can offer.
How is a Pre-Existing Medical Condition or Injury Defined?
The nature of a pre-existing medical condition or injury may be psychological or physical. Examples of pre-existing conditions – among many – include a heart condition, high blood pressure, asthma, clinical depression, and type-2 diabetes.
Pre-existing injuries are old injuries that still cause pain or irritation or never healed properly. A pre-existing injury could be any head, back, neck, arm, or leg injury. You must be completely forthright with your personal injury attorney about any pre-existing injury or medical condition.
Your honesty allows your Austin personal injury lawyer to work effectively with medical experts who can attest that the accident exacerbated your condition. Failing to disclose a pre-existing injury or condition could seriously damage your ability to recover compensation.
What is the Eggshell Skull Doctrine?
How are pre-existing injuries and medical conditions handled in Texas injury cases? A legal principle known as the "eggshell skull" doctrine protects victims with pre-existing injuries and conditions from having those injuries and conditions used against them in personal injury cases.
A pre-existing injury or condition cannot be used as a defense by a negligent party. When a defendant's negligence exacerbates someone's pre-existing injury or condition, the court may order the defendant to compensate the victim to the extent of the exacerbation.
If you have a pre-existing injury or condition, your medical records may provide evidence regarding how that injury or condition could be aggravated as the result of an accident.
What Should Your Medical Records Indicate?
Ideally, your medical records should be detailed and comprehensive. Your medical records before the accident in question should describe how severe the original condition or injury was and how it impacted your life. Medical records established after the accident should:
- indicate how that accident aggravated your pre-existing condition or injury
- list the symptoms you experienced after the accident
- indicate how the exacerbated condition or injury has affected your life
Your Austin personal injury attorney will review your medical records, diagnostic test results, and any statements or testimony from your doctors. In some cases, your attorney may ask a medical expert witness to testify in court or provide a statement supporting your injury claim.
How Will Your Lawyer Help?
An experienced Texas personal injury lawyer knows how to persuade a jury that a pre-existing medical condition or injury was exacerbated by an accident. Far too often, particularly in Texas, people who have pre-existing medical conditions or injuries fail to exercise their legal rights.
Those persons may presume that a pre-existing medical condition or injury disqualifies them for compensation after an accident. That presumption is misguided. You have rights, and if you are injured by negligence, you should exercise those rights with your personal injury attorney's help.
What is the Deadline for Bringing Personal Injury Lawsuits in Texas?
In Texas, the deadline (that is, the statute of limitations) for initiating a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of the injury, but you should get in touch with a Texas personal injury attorney as soon as you have been examined, treated, and released by a medical provider.
In the best scenario, your personal injury attorney should examine the evidence immediately, before it can be lost, altered, or contaminated. Your attorney should also meet with any witnesses before their memories start to fade. Delays will make it more difficult to prevail with your claim.
If your injury or medical condition is preventing you from working, don't let financial concerns stop you from seeking justice. At DJC Law, we represent our injured clients on a contingent fee basis. You pay no lawyer's fee upfront and no fee until DJC Law recovers your compensation.
We Know How To Handle Your Personal Injury Claim
In the Austin area, if you've been hurt in an accident by someone who was negligent, reckless, or intoxicated, and if your medical condition has deteriorated as a result of that accident, schedule a free first legal consultation immediately with the personal injury team at DJC Law.
It costs nothing to learn more about your rights. If your health is at risk after an accident, you must have legal help. DJC Law will negotiate for a fair and just settlement of your case, but a personal injury lawyer at DJC Law will take the case to court if no private settlement is possible.
Our award-winning firm has recovered more than $400 million in compensation for our injured clients, and we have more than three decades of legal experience and success. If you are injured by another person's negligence in Texas and have a pre-existing medical condition, call DJC Law at 888-853-8169 to schedule your first legal consultation with no obligation or cost.
