Pre-Existing Conditions and Your Injury Lawsuit, What you need to Know
It is quite common for those who sustain injury from a motor vehicle accident to also have pre-existing conditions before the accident occurred. According to HHS, approximately 19-50{88e349d5decac9e367401df59c8a5daea38c8be20f3485723a835d333268b5d9} of the nonelderly population has them. The plain truth is that these medical conditions could complicate your claim. The barrier put in front of you as a victim with a pre-existing condition is the need to prove that the injuries you sustained as a result of the accident were not related to injuries or ailments you had prior to the accident. It could also be on the victim to prove that the accident intensified and further aggravated your condition. The complexity that is involved in this process to provide proof is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly or alone and is why a professional and experienced personal injury attorney should be enlisted for help.
The EggShell Skull Rule
When a pre-existing condition is a factor in a personal injury suit the eggshell skull rule may be used. This is a legal doctrine that enables the victim to have the opposing party become liable for any worsening of a pre-existing condition that resulted from the accident. Basically, the party that is responsible for the accident cannot use any type of frailty the victim may have prior to the accident as a defense for injuries incurred by the accident.
Separate Injuries
In some cases, though, the existence of a condition prior to the accident could change the suit. A victim could have to prove that the injuries they sustained from the accident do not have any relation to their pre-existing condition. If this is the case, the victim is in the hot seat for proving that they are suffering because of the accident and not because of something unrelated to the accident. If they cannot, the defendant could put forth a valid argument that their actions did not lead to the suffering of the victim because that suffering already existed. This would essentially allow the guilty party to escape liability.
This is where the right professional legal representation comes into play. An experienced attorney can gather medical records or obtain experts to testify on the behalf o the victim. The addition of the right expert can be invaluable to the success of the victim’s case. Their background and the evidence they produce to support the victim’s claims can be the difference between winning the case and losing.
Personal Injury Attorneys in Las Vegas, Nevada
The complexity that can transpire for an individual with a pre-existing condition to successfully win a case of personal injury in the event of an accident could be very tricky. The experienced attorneys at The Cottle Firm have the right network of professionals to not only back your claims but also ensure you have the right medical diagnosis so you can develop a plan to heal and have the reimbursement to pay for the costs of your treatment plan.
In a time where there are approximately 130 million nonelderly individuals in the US have some sort of pre-existing condition, these complicated cases are fairly common. If you have a pre-existing condition and have been involved in an accident, call one of our aggressive attorneys at 702-722-6111. Our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys at The Cottle Firm have successfully obtained over a quarter of a billion dollars in compensation for our clients that were injured in accidents.
