While your pre-existing conditions should not affect your Fort Lauderdale car accident claim payout, they could make it more difficult to obtain fair compensation. Insurance companies often use pre-existing conditions to try to reduce or deny injury claims.
If you have serious crash injuries and pre-existing conditions, your best resource may be a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer. They will know how to build a robust case to support maximum compensation.
How Pre-Existing Conditions May Affect Your Car Accident Claim In Fort Lauderdale
While Florida law allows you to recover compensation for your crash injuries even if you have pre-existing conditions, the insurance company may make the process more difficult, especially if you file a serious injury claim against a negligent driver.
Some ways pre-existing injuries can affect your insurance claim include:
Difficulty In Obtaining Fair Compensation
While your pre-existing conditions should not affect the outcome of your injury claim, the insurance adjuster may make it more difficult to secure fair compensation by arguing that your injuries existed before the accident.
Under Florida law, accident victims can recover damages even if their injuries stem from a pre-existing condition (or in other words, if the crash worsened an existing injury). This is known as the “eggshell plaintiff” rule, which means the at-fault party’s responsibility does not decrease just because the victim was more susceptible to injury due to a pre-existing condition.
For example, let’s say you have experienced chronic neck pain for many years. You then suffer whiplash in a car accident that makes your neck pain much worse. In this case, the insurance company should not deny all neck pain treatment because of your pre-existing condition. At a minimum, you deserve enough compensation to treat your neck pain until it returns to the level it was before the crash.
Additional Medical History Scrutiny
If you have pre-existing conditions, you should expect the insurance adjuster to examine your medical records more closely. They may ask for additional records and documentation of your prior injuries or pre-existing conditions.
Your Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney will work to fight any tactics that might cause the insurer to reduce or deny your claim based on previous injuries or conditions.
Will The Insurance Company Try To Reduce Or Deny My Claim Based On Pre-Existing Conditions?
Yes, the insurance company may try to use your previous injuries or pre-existing conditions to minimize your payout or deny your claim. If you are filing a fault-based car accident claim and have previous injuries or conditions that make you more prone to injury, the insurance adjuster handling your claim may:
- Blame the pre-existing condition for your limitations: The insurance adjuster may claim your pain or injuries existed before the collision, so you do not deserve compensation for them.
- Try to minimize your compensation because of previous injuries: Insurance adjusters may offer a lower settlement amount and claim that the accident did not cause significant injuries, blaming your pre-existing condition instead.
- Request extensive medical records: The insurance company may delay your case and request additional medical records in an attempt to weaken your injury case against their policyholder. They hope to find inconsistencies or gaps in your medical records they can use to reduce your payout.
Some common tactics insurance companies may use in personal injury claims include:
- Disputing the severity of your car accident injuries
- Claiming you are exaggerating how much the accident worsened your condition
- Misinterpreting the medical evidence to show less of an effect on your daily life and abilities
When you have a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney working on your case, you will not have to worry about the insurance adjuster treating you unfairly. Your lawyer will know the common tactics insurers use to try to pay less in collision claims and can mitigate the effect your pre-existing condition or previous injuries might have on your payout from the start.
Do You Need A Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney If You Have Pre-Existing Conditions?
We highly recommend working with a Fort Lauderdale accident claim lawyer to manage your serious car accident injury claim, especially if you are living with previous injuries or pre-existing conditions. Your lawyer may be an invaluable resource to help you recover fair compensation in a fault-based claim.
Not only will they be able to gather evidence that you suffered serious injuries in the crash, but they will also build a strong case showing fault and liability. This is essential to recovering fair financial compensation.
Some of the benefits of working with a Fort Lauderdale car accident injury lawyer include:
- An experienced attorney can prevent insurers from unfairly using your medical history against you.
- A lawyer will help prove how your accident made your pre-existing condition worse, including calling in medical experts as needed.
- Your legal representation can use proven negotiation techniques to fight for compensation for new injuries, the worsening of old injuries, and other damages
- An attorney will know how to obtain, analyze, and present your medical records and related evidence to depict how the accident affected your life, abilities, and activities.
How A Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help Manage Your Car Accident Case
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) reported over 38,000 collisions in Broward County in 2024, causing injuries to over 23,000 people. While Florida is a no-fault state, victims with catastrophic injuries have a right to pursue fault-based claims or personal injury lawsuits and hold the liable party legally responsible.
A Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorney can help you manage your case if this happens to you. They can pursue a fair settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, file an uninsured motorist claim, or sue the other driver in civil court.
Car accident injury lawyers generally work based on contingency, so you should not have to pay anything upfront to hire an attorney to represent you.
Discuss Your Case With a Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Law Firm For Free
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, our team provides free case reviews for car accident victims. We can help you if you suffered serious injuries and wish to pursue fault-based compensation, even if you have pre-existing conditions or a previous injury. Our Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers know how to handle these complicated cases.
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