“In the real world, with all of its complications and imperfections, accident victims are often people who have already been hurt in some way”
NEW ORLEANS, LA — In the ideal personal injury claim, a victim is healthy before an accident, and only afterwards has clearly demonstrated accident-related injuries. But as we all know all too well, life is rarely ideal or clean-cut. In the real world, with all of its complications and imperfections, accident victims are often people who have already been hurt in some way. It’s important for the victim with pre-existing conditions to understand, first, how ordinary your circumstances actually are: you are not alone! The second thing you need to know, is what your rights are.
Take back injuries, for example. The spine and all of its connecting ligaments, nerves, and soft tissue is one of the easier regions of the body to injure during a motor vehicle accident. Each year approximately three million people are injured in motor vehicle accidents. At the same time, millions of Americans endure acute, degenerative, and chronic back injury and pain. This substantially increases the chances that an individual who endured a back injury in a collision, also suffers from a pre-existing back condition.
Research suggests that a full one-third of Americans between the ages of 40-59 years old suffer from degenerative disc disease. Women are more likely to suffer from this condition, at a rate of 40-70% higher instance of pathology than men of the same age.
Furthermore, up to 80% of Americans suffer, or have suffered, from low back pain. Of this number, 20% will commonly develop chronic low back pain.
Victims who have a pre-existing condition may be reluctant to come forward after someone else’s negligence has caused them further injury, or made their pre-existing condition feel worse. Big Insurance will discourage these fragile victims from pursuing their claims. However, victims need to know that the law is on their side. A victim’s pre-existing condition is NOT a defense for injuring him or her. In fact, the Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine instructs us that we must “take a plaintiff as he comes,” meaning that a negligent person is responsible not only for any new injury they cause, but also for any aggravation to a pre-existing condition. This holds true even if you are severely injured from accident forces which wouldn’t cause as much harm to a healthy person. The law, in the interest of public policy, recognizes that certain individuals are more fragile, more easily injured, and that these people deserve just as much protection from negligent actions as healthy people. You are not to blame for your pre-existing condition!
If you have a pre-existing condition and you’ve recently been a victim of someone else’s negligence, it’s important to be up front with an experienced personal injury attorney regarding your medical history, so that this information can be properly presented to the negligent party and their insurance company. Your medical providers can then determine exactly how much your condition has worsened due to your accident. This will allow you to hold the negligent person responsible, so that you can recover for your medical costs, pain and suffering, and any other damages you may have suffered. At The de Boisblanc Law Firm, you can have a free consultation to discuss your accident as well as any pre-existing conditions you may have, jump starting your road to recovery.