Can You Receive Financial Compensation When An Auto Accident Aggravated An Old Injury Instead Of Causing A New One?
by Lawrence Miller
If you suffer injuries in a car accident, you can receive compensation that pays for the medical bills you incur treating those injuries. This compensation can come from an insurance claim that you file with the other driver's auto insurance company or through a court case where you're awarded damages by the judge. However, the situation can become rapidly more complex if the car accident worsened an injury that you already had. For example, you may have suffered from nagging back pain that became debilitating after you were injured in an accident. To learn why this makes auto accident claims more complex and what you should do if one of your preexisting injuries was made worse as a result of an auto accident, read on.
Can You Receive Compensation for Medical Bills if an Auto Accident Worsened a Preexisting Injury?
Fortunately, you're still able to receive compensation when a car accident aggravates an old injury instead of causing an entirely new one. However, it becomes more likely that you'll need to involve an auto accident attorney in the process. Car insurance companies will sometimes use evidence of your preexisting injury to deny your claim or significantly reduce the amount of money they pay to you for your medical bills. Car insurance companies make money by limiting how much they pay out in claims, and an existing injury gives them an opportunity to do so.
What Should You Do if an Auto Accident Aggravated a Preexisting Injury?
If you have a preexisting injury that worsened after you were in an auto accident, it's a good idea to consult with an auto accident attorney as soon as you can. An auto accident attorney can negotiate with the other driver's insurance company to try to get them to pay the full amount necessary to pay for your medical bills. If the insurance company still denies the claim or only offers a low amount of money, an attorney can file a lawsuit against them.
If it's necessary to take the case to court, an auto accident attorney will need to prove that the auto accident worsened your preexisting injury. They'll use your medical records from before and after your car accident, including medical imaging like X-rays that can often provide proof that the car accident made your preexisting injury worse. You can also provide evidence of a change in your ability to function after the car accident because of the aggravated preexisting injury, such as not being able to perform your job any longer due to severe pain.
Overall, you can still receive financial compensation if you were already injured before your auto accident. However, a preexisting injury makes the process of proving that the car accident caused your injury more difficult, so you should involve an auto accident attorney in the process of filing your claim. If you were in a car accident and it made an old injury worse, contact an auto accident attorney in your area and talk to them about the extent of your preexisting injuries and how they changed after your accident. They'll guide you on how to get the money you need to pay your medical bills.
Contact a local law firm to learn more, like Labine Law Firm.
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About Me
What kind of injuries can you hold someone liable for? How severe do the injuries have to be? When my husband was injured by a faulty saw, we weren't sure what we were going to do. At that time, we didn't have any health insurance and had to try to come up with the money for emergency and long-term medial treatment. This created an impossible time for my family. My husband was out of work and we had medical bills piling up because a product that we paid a lot of money for malfunctioned and injured my husband. So, what can you do when this happens? Read through my blog.