Maybe, but not in the way that most people think. The presence of a pre-existing health condition doesn’t change whether the other driver was negligent or whether their negligence caused the wreck. They would be just as liable for your damages as they would be if you were 100% healthy.
The law in Kentucky is that a negligent party is responsible for any aggravation or exacerbation of your pre-existing condition. However, insurance companies often use the presence of a pre-existing condition as grounds to argue that your car crash injuries aren’t as bad as you claim or that the wreck did not change that pre-existing condition. It’s a common argument, and one that our personal injury attorneys are familiar with.
If you have a pre-existing condition, and the car accident aggravates your condition or re-injures you in the same location, your insurance claim is likely to be contested. An experienced Louisville car accident attorney can help you recover compensation.
How pre-existing conditions affect personal injury claims
Kentucky personal injury laws permit plaintiffs in car accident claims to recover the full value of their medical expenses related to the negligence. Insurance carriers seek any reason to minimize your medical expenses. If you did have a pre-existing condition that was worsened by the impact, it’s easy for them to claim that you are complaining about injuries that existed before the wreck even happened.
Let’s use this example: You have a broken left arm, and it’s partially healed when you get t-boned. The impact shatters the healing bone, causing a compound fracture. Your personal injury lawyer calculates the full value of treating the re-broken bone, including surgery and your additional pain and suffering. But, the insurance company claims that your arm was like that already.
You can see how this gets a little murky. Your medical records and medical history form a large part of your attorney’s argument in favor of your right to compensation for the additional harm to your arm.
The Eggshell Skull Rule and personal injury law
There is significant legal precedent for permitting plaintiffs to recover compensation for injuries that aggravate a pre-existing condition. It’s called the Eggshell Skull Rule, and it applies in Kentucky.
Essentially, this common-law doctrine states that a defendant (the at-fault party) is responsible for all the injuries caused by a wreck—even if the victim was more fragile or had a condition that made the injuries worse than you would expect. The rule means that you should be compensated for any change in your condition caused by the wreck. Their actions were negligent, and because of their negligence, you suffered harm.
While the eggshell skull rule entitles you to recover compensation for medical care needed to treat any exacerbation or aggravation of a pre-existing condition, it does not permit you to recover compensation for a pre-existing condition not affected by the incident.
Proving your claim for compensation under the Eggshell Skull Rule
Your medical history shows your pre-existing condition and how it happened. Your post-crash medical records should show where and how the crash’s impact worsened your injuries.
Working with an experienced car accident attorney, one who employs medical experts, can improve the strength of your claim. You can be sure that the insurance carrier has many medical experts of its own, who may state that the impact of the car crash had nothing to do with worsening your pre-existing injury. Our car crash lawyers argue for the full amount of damages that you’re entitled to.
If your pre-existing condition was aggravated in a car collision, please contact Grossman Green PLLC at (502) 657-7100 for a free consultation.