An auto accident only takes seconds to cause serious injury or death. A car accident can happen anytime, anywhere, for many different reasons. Because of this, you shouldn’t take the blame if a negligent driver caused you injury, especially if their action aggravated a pre-existing illness.
Over the years, Lutz, FL, and its surroundings have grown immensely, offering many vacation hotspots and career opportunities. Even though this is great news for the overall economy of the region and local businesses, road traffic can result in major safety problems and increase the risk of car accidents. It is thus standard procedure to seek compensation if you were hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Contact a Lutz car accident lawyer to discuss the legal steps to make a car accident claim.
What is a Pre-Existing Illness?
In health insurance, pre-existing illness is a chronic condition for which individuals will continue to need coverage if they change an insurer. When it comes to personal injury, a pre-existing illness is a health problem you had before the accident.
It is hard to prove liability for an accident, especially when you have a pre-existing condition. The jury, judge, and insurance company must decide if the accident caused the injury to worsen or if it would have exacerbated it.
To avoid paying you compensation for the pre-existing condition, the insurance companies will look for many pre-existing conditions as possible. How will the insurance company know if you have a pre-existing illness? It is important to make known any pre-existing condition during the information-gathering stage of a personal injury claim and to the physician treating you after a car accident.
Pre-Existing Conditions That May Worsen
Certain illnesses are susceptible to becoming worse after a subsequent accident. They include:
- Degenerative conditions: Illnesses like arthritis or degenerative disk disease can be worsened by the impact of a car crash, resulting in more severe chronic pain and symptoms.
- Brittle bones: Conditions such as osteogenesis imperfecta and osteoporosis make you more vulnerable to fractures after a car crash. If you suffer from brittle bones, you are vulnerable to damage to organs protected by bones, like spinal cord injuries and internal injuries.
- Fibromyalgia: This is a devastating condition that causes pain throughout the body. It is unclear what causes fibromyalgia. However, there are known cases of car accidents causing the condition’s onset or worsening the pre-existing condition.
- Concussion and traumatic brain injuries (TBI): If you are hit on the head in a car crash and have a history of concussions, the damage to your brain might be life-altering or severe.
Remember that a pre-existing illness might be something you were unaware of when the accident happened. A hidden disorder that causes only mild symptoms after a car accident might affect your body. Sometimes, only post-accident medical examination and diagnosis tests such as MRIS and X-rays uncover pre-existing illnesses. Unfortunately, these conditions can affect your claim whether you know about them.
Do I Qualify For Compensation For a Car Accident With A Pre-Existing Condition?
In Florida, the issue of pre-existing illness is critical. This is because Florida has a higher-than-average percentage of older individuals more likely to suffer from pre-existing conditions. In addition, Florida has more than the average percentage of disabled of 28.5 percent compared to the national average of 25.6 percent in the United States. These statistics may fall or rise depending on the migratory nature of Floridians, but generally, they remain high.
The Eggshell Rule
This common law doctrine states that a person must be accountable for the consequences of their negligent act irrespective of the injured person’s vulnerability to harm. This rule contradicts the concept that harm has to be foreseeable. In Florida, a person’s recovery is more important than foreseeability. This is because an eggshell individual cannot help being vulnerable.
Generally, if the unproven negligence significantly contributes to your injury, you can get compensation even if the pre-existing condition played a part.
When it comes to damages, juries should award compensations for the percentages of injury that occurred due to the perpetrator’s negligence. However, if the jury cannot separate the cause for damages, the plaintiff may recover for all the injuries suffered.