How Do Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Florida Personal Injury Claims?

Suffering an injury in an accident can be devastating. Even more devastating, however, is suffering an injury when you have a pre-existing condition. Pre-existing conditions and injuries can be exacerbated by new injuries and can even affect your ability to recover from new injuries. Therefore, if you’ve been injured in an accident and suffer from a pre-existing condition, you should immediately contact an experienced Florida personal injury attorney, as you may be entitled to compensation via a personal injury claim. Below is some additional information on how pre-existing conditions can affect Florida personal injury claims.    

How insurance companies treat pre-existing conditions

Nearly all personal injury claims begin with a determination by the insurance company of whether the claimant had a pre-existing condition at the time of his or her accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies do this in an effort to minimize or deny an injured party’s claim. In other words, if an insurance finds any evidence, however tenuous, that an injured person had a pre-existing condition, they will use this information to pay out as little as possible. Therefore, you should never deal with an insurance company following an injury without first enlisting the help of an experienced Florida personal injury attorney.   

The importance of disclosure

Although pre-existing conditions provide insurance companies with ammunition to deny claims, an injured party must disclose all pre-existing conditions when filing a personal injury claim. In other words, an injured person should never attempt to hide or minimize a pre-existing condition, as this can only hurt his or her case. In addition, pre-existing conditions are often exacerbated by accidents—and this can lead to higher recovery amounts.

The eggshell plaintiff rule

When an individual suffers an injury that aggravates or complicates a pre-existing condition, he or she may still be entitled to compensation for his or her injuries. The reason for this is the eggshell plaintiff rule. Under this legal standard, a negligent or reckless party can be held responsible for the full extent of a plaintiff’s injuries, even when the amount of harm suffered was more than what would usually be suffered by the average person. Therefore, individuals with pre-existing injuries should never be reluctant to pursue legal compensation when such injuries are exacerbated in an accident.

Contact a Pensacola personal injury attorney

If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident of any kind in Pensacola, Florida, you need an experienced Florida personal injury attorney on your side. Located in Pensacola, Florida, Staples, Ellis + Associates, P.A., has over seventy years of combined experience representing accident victims in Northwest Florida and Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident of any kind in Northwest Florida, Staples Ellis is here to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Please contact our office as soon as possible to set up a consultation with one of our talented attorneys.

Posted in: Personal Injury