How Can a Pre-Existing Condition Affect My Personal Injury Claim?
If you have a chronic medical condition or suffer long-term consequences of an injury, you may face an injury caused by another party’s negligence. While this adds another issue to your case, it’s not the end of the road. You can still be compensated for the harm caused by an accident.
Millions of Americans and Thousands of Kentuckians Have Chronic Health Problems
About 129 million Americans, out of a population of about 327 million, have at least one chronic medical condition, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They state that the southeastern US, especially Kentucky, has some of the highest rates of chronic medical conditions in the country.
Mathematica estimates that as of 2018, 425,376 Kentucky residents aged 18 to 64 were considered disabled out of a population of 2,678,563, or almost 16% of this group. The Kentucky Department of Public Health states the following health issues are more common here than in the rest of the US:
- Arthritis
- Cardiovascular disease
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Oral health problems
- Obesity
- Respiratory diseases
If there’s an accident in the state that injures someone, there’s a good chance they have a chronic illness or are affected by a prior injury.
How Will a Chronic Health Condition or Prior Injury Impact My Personal Injury Case?
The impact depends on how you’re injured and how you’re affected. Your health condition or past injury may have no effect on how this new injury affects you. Your knee replacement or foot injury may have nothing to do with how a shoulder or traumatic brain injury affects your health or your ability to live your life.
It gets more complicated when this new injury worsens or aggravates your old injury or is impacted by your chronic condition.
If a defendant is found responsible for causing you harm, the fact that you’re more susceptible to worsening your condition doesn’t let the defendant off the hook. Damages (your harm, measured in dollars) aren’t based on what an average or “normal” person would suffer in the accident. They’re based on what you’re dealing with.
You can be affected by more than just a worsened prior injury. Other issues concern your health before and after the accident. Your arthritis, diabetes, or obesity may make your recovery longer and more difficult. Your existing depression may worsen due to the accident and resulting injuries.
In these situations, your damages award or settlement would be based on how the accident’s injury worsened your life, not what your recovery would’ve or should’ve been if you never had these conditions.
What Recovery Could I Get for the Accident?
You would be eligible for compensation for how the accident worsened your physical and mental health and ability to function. If you had a prior knee injury, and despite treatment and rehabilitation, it impacted your life. On a scale of zero (you have no pain or limitations) to ten (your knee can’t function, and you’re in extreme pain), let’s say you would rate your situation a two.
You’re later involved in a collision with a commercial truck, which further injures your knee, making your life worse. After the accident, treatment, and rehabilitation, you rate your situation as a six. Through an insurance claim or lawsuit, your damages claim would be based on the fact your health challenges went from a two to a six, not from a zero to a six.
How Would This Be Decided?
In every personal injury case, we must establish a client’s health, capabilities, and quality of life before the injury. That gets a little more complicated if there’s a preexisting injury or health condition that may complicate recovery. We would use your medical records before and after the accident to show how this new injury affects you.
Your healthcare providers could testify about your life and health before and after the accident. A medical expert may also review your medical records, examine you, and testify to their opinion.
The other party’s insurer will also look at your medical records and may hire a medical expert. Using the prior example, the defense may argue your life before the accident:
- Wasn’t a two. It was a six, so you don’t deserve any compensation since the accident didn’t cause any additional harm
- Was a four, so they’re obligated to compensate you, but there is less harm to your quality of life than you claim, so they shouldn’t pay you as much as you want
If we can’t work out a compromise and settle a case, it would be up to a jury to decide if a defendant caused your injuries and, if so, how much they should compensate you.
Speak To a Satterley & Kelley, PLLC Car Accident Lawyer Today
You may be compensated for your harm if you suffered an injury due to another party’s negligence. Satterley & Kelley PLLC lawyers can protect your legal rights and interests while pursuing an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your accident and injuries by calling our Louisville office at 855-385-9532. If it’s more convenient, complete our contact form.