A car accident can completely change your life. Even seemingly minor accidents can lead to costly injuries or worsen pre-existing medical conditions. This creates a ripple effect that impacts your ability to work and provide for your family. If you’ve been the victim of a car accident that wasn’t your fault and an existing medical condition has been aggravated, our committed team of personal injury lawyers in Greenville, South Carolina is here to safeguard your rights and guide you through your aggravated injury settlement.
Personal injury claims can be difficult. They become even more complex when a pre-existing medical condition is involved. Happily, we’ve refined our legal strategies over the years so when you work with us, you’re not just getting a dedicated personal injury lawyer — you’re gaining the full support of our entire legal team, including investigators, legal assistants, and paralegals. At The Clardy Law Firm, we handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on your recovery and getting your life back on track.
Often, old and even resolved injuries can be triggered by new accidents, causing further complications. If a pre-existing condition — like backache, for example — has been triggered by an accident that was not your fault, it is important to work with an experienced vehicle accident attorney who can guide you through your aggravated injury settlement. While these cases are tricky, and insurance companies might use a variety of defense tactics to try and reduce payouts, we leverage every aspect of the law and robust evidence-gathering techniques to defend your rights.
In this guide, we explore the impact of a pre-existing condition on motor vehicle accident claims and reveal how The Clardy Law Firm can help you achieve the best possible outcome.
What Are Pre-Existing Conditions?
Many people live with ailments, injuries, and pain due to pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing medical conditions refer to health issues like chronic back pain, arthritis, or injuries that existed before the accident occurred. These conditions may have developed from a previous injury or as part of the natural aging process. When a recent car accident worsens an existing condition — resulting in aggravation, pain, suffering, loss of income, and rising medical bills — you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim for the aggravation of a pre-existing condition. Examples of pre-existing conditions include:
- Back injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Bone fracture
- Cardiovascular disease
- Neck injuries
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Spinal disc herniation
- Joint problems
- Epilepsy
- Migraines
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Degenerative disc diseases
- Osteoporosis
- Old sports injuries.
Although these injuries and conditions existed before, they can be aggravated or re-triggered by a recent accident. To successfully pursue a claim, it’s crucial to differentiate between new injuries caused directly by the accident and pre-existing injuries that have been exacerbated. Car accidents can result in new injuries, worsen existing ones, or both. When an accident aggravates a pre-existing condition, it can lead to further complications down the line and increased medical costs. In such cases, seeking a settlement for the aggravation of a pre-existing condition is essential.
While insurance companies often scrutinize pre-existing medical conditions more closely than new injuries, our dedicated personal injury attorneys in Greenville, SC can help protect your rights and pursue a fair aggravated-injury settlement that considers increased pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost income.
Legal Considerations in South Carolina
Fault-Based System
Under South Carolina law, vehicle accident claims fall under a “fault-based system.” This means the driver responsible for causing the vehicle accident is liable for any damages caused. To file a winning personal injury claim, the claimant must prove the other driver was negligent, and that this negligence caused the accident and any subsequent injuries.
In addition, the state follows a “comparative negligence rule.” This allows claimants to recover a portion of damages even if they were partially at fault, provided their share is below 50%. If this occurs — and the claimant wins — the compensation will be reduced based on this at-fault percentage.
Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
A key tenet of South Carolina law is the “Eggshell Plaintiff Rule,” also known as the “Eggshell Skull Rule.” This rule explicitly states defendants must take plaintiffs “as they find them.” Therefore, if a person has a pre-existing medical condition that makes them more susceptible to severe injuries, the at-fault driver is still liable for any harm caused. So, if Driver A already had a bad back at the time of the accident caused by Driver B, and the accident further aggravated that condition, Driver B would still be at fault. This holds true even though Driver A’s existing medical condition made them more vulnerable to injury than someone without a pre-existing condition.
This principle is crucial when navigating cases involving pre-existing conditions and motor vehicle accidents. The rule ensures claimants can recover damages if their pre-existing conditions are aggravated by an accident, preventing defendants from avoiding responsibility for any aggravation.
Burden of Proof
Claimants must show sufficient evidence that the accident worsened a pre-existing medical condition. This is where our personal injury attorneys in Greenville, SC can help to successfully meet this burden of proof.
The claimant has to prove the accident directly worsened a pre-existing medical condition, highlighting it caused clear and medically measurable deterioration and worsening. This is where medical evidence and expert medical testimony become invaluable. Our lawyers will meticulously analyze medical records and gather statements from healthcare providers, working to prove the accident caused aggravation of the condition. A robust catalog of evidence is vital for a successful aggravation of a pre-existing condition settlement and can help overcome challenges by insurance companies.
How Pre-existing Conditions Affect Motor Accident Claims
Unfortunately, pre-existing conditions can complicate liability and damage issues, resulting in reduced compensation and increased scrutiny by insurance companies around the validity of your claims. Insurance companies might try to use pre-existing conditions against claimants to minimize payouts and downplay the impact the recent accident has had. As such, it is crucial to work with a seasoned personal injury attorney who can help you with an aggravation of a pre-existing condition settlement case. Our attorneys leverage their legal experience and evidence-gathering skills to demonstrate the accident aggravated existing injuries, working to secure rightful compensation for lost income, medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and pain and suffering.
Impact on Compensation
Pre-existing medical conditions can complicate claims, making it even more important to work alongside personal injury lawyers who can advocate for your rights. When pre-existing conditions are involved, compensation usually focuses on any aggravation of the injury rather than the medical condition as a whole.
Insurance companies often apply the principle of “apportionment” in these cases, attempting to separate damages caused before the accident from those caused afterward. This can be a complex process, requiring careful differentiation between symptoms present before the accident and those that emerged afterward. Naturally, insurance companies may try to significantly reduce compensation and argue that the state of the condition has not changed since the accident. This is where our personal injury lawyers can advocate for your rights.
Insurance Companies and Defense Tactics
Insurance companies want to reduce compensation rates as much as possible and may use pre-existing medical conditions as a tactic to minimize payouts. Defense attorneys might downplay the seriousness of aggravated injuries, claiming the issue is the pre-existing injury rather than the injury aggravation that occurred after the accident.
These strategies aim to reduce settlement values and require a robust legal strategy that uses evidence to demonstrate the claimant’s burden of proof. This approach increases the likelihood that the true impact of the accident on the injury is understood and prevents insurance companies from underpaying compensation claims.
The Role of Medical Records
Accurate, comprehensive medical records are vital in aggravated injury settlements. Providing clear and detailed documentation of the condition before and after the accident is critical to showcase how the accident has aggravated the pre-existing condition. These tips can ensure that all evidence is presented effectively when documenting and presenting medical evidence.
- Keep a clear and consistent timeline of the injury and pre and post-accident symptoms.
- Gather medical history from healthcare providers.
- Get clear statements from medical professionals about how the accident has aggravated your condition. They can also provide a clear prognosis of future health.
- Consider including photographic or video evidence if applicable.
- Include the latest medical invoices and bills to highlight the monetary toll the aggravation has caused.
- Consider an expert testimony by a medical professional who can clearly analyze the impact of the accident on the pre-existing condition.
Strategies for Maximizing Your Claim
Gathering Evidence
It’s advised to seek medical evaluations immediately after the accident and maintain a consistent treatment schedule thereafter to maximize your recovery and subsequent personal injury claim. This ensures the aggravation is clearly documented by professionals and allows us to utilize their expert statements and testimonies in your claim. Expert testimonies offer authoritative perspectives on your personal injury case, proving how the accident exacerbated your existing condition. This information is in presenting your aggravation of a pre-existing condition claim successfully.
Working with Experienced Legal Representation:
Work with a legal team that is well-versed in personal injury law and specifically the aggravation of pre-existing medical conditions. Navigating the intricacies of these claims can be complex. However, The Clardy Law Firm has a clear track record of handling these cases and helping our clients secure fair compensation. We provide in-depth legal insights and robust strategies to effectively present your evidence to achieve the best possible outcome.
Proving to an insurance company that a pre-existing medical condition has worsened as a direct result of an accident can be a challenging feat. Nonetheless, our team is confident in our ability to assert your rights and get you the compensation you deserve. Our car accident attorneys in Greenville, South Carolina will initiate an investigation and gather the necessary evidence to prove liability on the at-fault driver’s part. While you focus your energy on rehabilitation and recovery, we’ll be in your corner, fighting for rightful compensation and making sure justice is served.
