Will pre-existing injuries affect my ability to receive compensation?

Answer: I had a lady come in the other day who was involved in an auto accident who had pre-existing injuries. She wanted to know if these prior injuries were going to affect her case. This is a complicated question because there are several factors that you need to look at. One of the factors is how long ago did the pre-existing injury occur? If it was a long time ago, the chances are it may not hurt it as much. If it was more recent in time, it could. The second thing is what that prior injury was. Was it to the same area of the body, or was it completely unrelated? The third thing that we’re going to look at is, immediately prior to the current accident, was the individual still experiencing problems or symptoms from that pre-existing injury?

Lastly, we’re going to look at is if those pre-existing injuries became worse? For example, the woman I spoke to had a prior back surgery and screws placed in her back, but it was over 15 years ago. She was totally fine. However, as a result of this accident, those screws became dislodged and she developed complications. In that situation, the pre-existing injury is not going to be a problem. In fact, it adds to her damages because she was totally fine up until this recent accident. If you have any questions or concerns, we are here to help.