Can I Still Bring a Personal Injury Claim if I Have Pre-Existing Conditions?

About the Author

Ethan Charles (“EC”) Duckworth is the founding attorney of Duckworth Injury Law. EC earned his law degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia, where he graduated in the top 10 of his class and served as an Editor of the Missouri Law Review. EC currently serves as a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (MATA) and is a graduate of the Ross T. Roberts Trial Academy. EC has represented hundreds of injury victims throughout his career resulting in tens of millions of dollars in compensation recovered. EC routinely handles personal injury claims whereby his clients have prior injuries, conditions, or factors influencing their present injury claim. 

Concerned That A Preexisting Condition Could Affect Your Personal Injury Claim? Call Ec Duckworth Today To Learn More About Your Rights & Potential Legal Options

If you were injured in an accident but already had back pain, arthritis, a prior surgery, or another medical condition, you may be concerned that you cannot bring a personal injury claim. However, a pre-existing condition does not prevent you from pursuing compensation in Missouri.

It can, however, make the claim more complicated. The insurance company will likely examine your medical history and argue that your current symptoms were caused by something other than the accident. The important question is not simply whether a condition existed before the accident. The question is whether the accident caused a new injury or made your prior condition worse.

What Is Considered a Pre-Existing Condition?

A pre-existing condition is any injury, illness, or medical problem that existed before the accident involved in your claim. It does not have to be a serious condition or one that was actively being treated when the accident occurred.

Common examples include arthritis, degenerative disc disease, prior herniated discs, chronic back or neck pain, an earlier concussion, previous joint injuries, and prior surgeries. An old workers’ compensation claim or injuries from an earlier car accident may also become relevant.

Many people have some degenerative findings on an MRI, particularly as they get older. That does not necessarily mean those findings were causing pain or limiting their activities before the accident. There is an important difference between having a condition visible on imaging and having an active, symptomatic medical problem.

Missouri Law Allows Recovery for an Aggravated Condition

Missouri law generally allows an injured person to recover damages when someone else’s negligence aggravates or makes worse an existing condition. A negligent person does not escape responsibility simply because the injured person was more vulnerable to harm than someone else might have been.

This principle is sometimes called the “eggshell plaintiff” rule. In simple terms, the at-fault party must take the injured person as they find them. If an accident causes unusually serious harm because of the person’s existing physical condition, the defendant may still be responsible for the harm caused by the accident.

There are limits to this rule. You cannot recover compensation for pain, limitations, or medical treatment caused entirely by the condition that existed before the accident. You may recover for a new injury and for the extent to which the accident worsened the prior condition. 

A Pre-Existing Condition Can Be Aggravated in Different Ways

An accident does not have to create an entirely new medical diagnosis to cause a compensable injury. It may turn a previously manageable condition into one that requires significant treatment. It may cause occasional discomfort to become constant pain. It may also accelerate a condition that otherwise would not have required surgery or other treatment for years.

For example, someone may have degenerative changes in the cervical spine but no significant neck pain before a collision. After the collision, that person may develop persistent pain, numbness, or weakness and eventually require injections or surgery. The insurance company may focus on the word “degenerative” in the medical records. The more important issue is whether the person’s symptoms, limitations, and need for treatment materially changed after the crash.

The same analysis can apply when someone had symptoms before the accident. A person who already experienced occasional lower-back pain may still have a claim if an accident made that pain substantially worse, caused new symptoms into the legs, or created new limitations at work and home.

Expect the Insurance Company to Review Your Medical History

Insurance companies commonly use pre-existing conditions to reduce the amount they pay. An adjuster may argue that the accident caused only a temporary flare-up or that the treatment you received would have been necessary even if the accident had never happened.

To make these arguments, the insurance company will usually request medical records from before the accident. Depending on the circumstances, it may also ask about previous injuries, claims, accidents, and lawsuits.

You should assume that relevant prior medical information will eventually be discovered. Trying to hide a previous condition is usually far more damaging than the condition itself. An inconsistency between what you report and what appears in your medical records can give the insurance company an opportunity to attack your credibility.

Being honest does not mean accepting the insurance company’s characterization of your medical history. A notation of back pain years earlier does not necessarily establish that you had the same symptoms immediately before the accident. Medical records must be considered in context.

The “Before and After” Evidence Is Often Critical

Cases involving pre-existing conditions frequently depend on establishing a clear picture of your health before and after the accident.

Your prior records may show that a condition was stable, that you had not sought treatment for a substantial period, or that you were functioning without significant restrictions. Your post-accident records may document new symptoms, increased pain, additional treatment, missed work, or reduced ability to perform everyday activities.

The comparison is not limited to medical records. Testimony from family members, friends, coworkers, and others who regularly observed you may help explain how your abilities changed after the accident. Your own description of what you could do before the accident and what you struggle to do now is also important.

In more complicated cases, a treating physician or medical expert may need to explain how the accident caused a new injury or aggravated the prior condition. This can be particularly important when imaging shows both degenerative changes and evidence of trauma.

Does a Prior Injury Reduce the Value of a Claim?

A pre-existing condition may affect how an insurance company evaluates a claim, but it does not automatically make the case worth less. The result depends on the medical history, the person’s condition immediately before the accident, the nature of the trauma, and the strength of the evidence connecting the accident to the new or worsened symptoms.

In some cases, the prior records clearly demonstrate that the accident caused a substantial change. Someone may have gone years without treatment before suddenly requiring extensive medical care after a collision. In other cases, the person may have been receiving active treatment for similar complaints when the accident occurred, making it more difficult to separate the prior condition from the additional harm. Every case is different. The existence of a prior diagnosis is only one part of the analysis.

Do Not Assume You Have No Claim

People with pre-existing conditions sometimes decide not to pursue a claim because they believe the insurance company will blame everything on their medical history. That assumption may cause them to give up a valid claim.

You did not have to be in perfect health before the accident. You are entitled to be evaluated based on the condition you were actually in when the accident happened. If another person’s negligence caused a new injury or made an existing condition worse, Missouri law may allow you to recover compensation for the additional harm.

Talk With a Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer

Claims involving pre-existing conditions require a careful review of the medical history and a clear explanation of what changed after the accident. An experienced injury attorney can identify the relevant records, work with medical providers, and respond when the insurance company attempts to attribute all of your symptoms to an earlier condition.

At Duckworth Injury Law, I personally handle every case. If you were injured in Columbia, Jefferson City, Fulton, Sedalia, the Lake of the Ozarks region, or elsewhere in Mid-Missouri, contact my office for a free, no-obligation consultation. Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis, which means you do not owe an attorney’s fee unless I recover compensation for you.