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If you have been injured due to the careless or wrongful acts of someone else, the law in Colorado may entitle you to financial compensation. If you have pre-existing injuries from before the accident, however, this can impact your claim. An insurance company may try to use your pre-existing injury as a reason to deny or diminish your benefits.
A pre-existing injury is any injury, health condition or illness you had prior to the accident listed on a personal injury claim. Pre-existing injuries can refer to injuries from previous auto accidents, congenital abnormalities and chronic medical conditions. Common examples include:
Regardless of the nature of your pre-existing injury or condition, an insurance company may try to use it against you during the claims process. It is important to recognize how an insurance company might react to your pre-existing injury so that you can prepare yourself to handle the claims process ahead.
Many injured accident victims who need to file claims with insurance providers in Colorado have pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. Unfortunately, even if this is not directly related to the victim’s current injuries, it can adversely affect a claim due to insurance company tactics.
An insurer may attempt to reduce the settlement offered to you using your pre-existing injury as an excuse. This is especially common if you are trying to demonstrate how an accident exacerbated an existing injury or condition. In this situation, the insurance company may only try to pay you for the exacerbation rather than the full extent of your injuries and losses.
In addition, a pre-existing injury may increase your burden of proof. As the plaintiff or filing party in a personal injury claim, you have the burden of providing evidence to prove the truth of the claim you are making.
If a pre-existing condition is used against you, you will need to present more evidence demonstrating how the current accident caused your new injury or exacerbated an existing one. You or your attorney will also have to show that you have new medical bills, pain and suffering, or other losses connected to the current accident.
It is important to realize that having a pre-existing injury does not automatically preclude you from recovering financial compensation in Colorado. Even if a prior condition or old injury exacerbated your new injuries, this does not disqualify you from making a financial recovery. It is important to protect yourself if an insurance company attempts to use a pre-existing condition against you in this way.
The insurance company’s goal is to find a reason to minimize or reject your claim. It may try to use your pre-existing injury to argue that the current injury, pain or disability you are claiming is connected to your pre-existing condition, not the accident. If the insurance company succeeds with this argument, you may not receive any financial compensation for your injuries.
The insurer will try to shift liability for your current injury away from its policyholder and toward your pre-existing condition. It may do this by alleging that you already had the injury in question, lowballing your settlement offer due to an alleged lack of clarity regarding your injuries or unnecessarily delaying your payout while waiting for your condition to improve.
A legal doctrine known as the Eggshell Skull Rule works in your favor as a claimant with a pre-existing injury. This rule states that it is a defendant’s obligation to accept a plaintiff as he or she was at the time of the accident. This means even if the plaintiff had a condition that made him or her more prone than the average person to serious injuries – such as a skull as thin as an eggshell – the defendant will be liable for the full extent of his or her damages.
The Eggshell Skull Rule means an insurance company cannot deny your claim based on a pre-existing injury alone. If the accident aggravated your pre-existing injury, you will be eligible for financial benefits for the full extent of how the accident impacted your health.
Likewise, if your pre-existing condition exacerbated your injuries from an accident, you will be eligible for full compensation. The only time a pre-existing injury may bar you from recovery is if you are claiming benefits for an old injury alone, unrelated to the accident.
Upon learning about your pre-existing injury, an insurance company will try to learn as much as it can about your medical history. You may receive a Medical Authorization Request Form from the insurance company. It is important not to sign this form before taking it to a personal injury lawyer in Denver. It most likely grants the insurer access to your full medical records.
Rather than signing any documents given to you by an insurance company, work with an attorney to send the insurer only the medical records that are relevant to your current claim. This can prevent the insurance company from attempting to use a pre-existing condition or injury as a reason to withhold benefits from you.
In Colorado, the statute of limitations (Colorado Revised Statute § 13-80-102) places a two-year deadline on the right to file a personal injury claim. This legal time limitation starts counting down on the date of the accident or of reasonable injury discovery.
In a case involving a pre-existing condition, determining your exact statute of limitations can be tricky. It is important to have clear medical documentation showing a timeline of your new injury or exacerbation vs. your pre-existing conditions if you file close to your deadline.
An attorney can help you work through the complicated details of your case for the best possible outcome, with or without a pre-existing injury involved. A personal injury lawyer will know how to build and shape your claim to combat potential challenges, including the likelihood of the pre-existing injury defense in your particular case.
Your lawyer can help you prove that your new injuries are separate from anything listed in your prior health records. This can be accomplished by submitting the appropriate medical records and accident documentation, hiring injury experts, working with your doctors, arguing against insurance claims adjusters and ensuring that the Eggshell Skull Rule is correctly applied to your case.
A law firm has the ability to protect you from insurance company tactics that may otherwise devalue or deny your claim based on a pre-existing condition. For more information about how this issue could impact your Colorado personal injury case, contact Fang Accident Lawyers to request a free consultation.