Can a Pre-Existing Condition Affect My Car Accident Claim?

February 3, 2025

Being in a car accident can mean facing medical expenses that drain you financially and struggling with physical and emotional trauma. You may not be able to lead your life as you want to and could experience disabling injuries that keep you from working and supporting yourself and your loved ones. If you’ve suffered because of someone else’s negligent or intentional conduct, one of your options to recover losses is filing a personal injury claim.

These claims are never simple, but their complexity increases if you have pre-existing medical conditions. Insurance companies can try to prove that the injuries you sustained were part of your pre-existing condition and were not a result of the car accident. If they’re able to do so, they can refuse your claim and leave you to pay for medical expenses out of your own pocket.

If you’ve been in a collision in Pennsylvania and have a pre-existing condition, it’s essential that you hire experienced representation. At Wapner Newman, our team has decades of combined experience and a fierce dedication to helping our clients. Don’t try to go through this process without guidance.

Contact our car accident lawyers by calling us at (215) 569-0900.

Understanding Pre-Existing Conditions

Why They Can Complicate Claims

A pre-existing condition is an injury, medical condition, or illness that you already had before you got into the car accident. These can include:

• Prior bone fractures
• Chronic conditions such as arthritis, asthma, and hypertension
• Migraines and chronic headaches
• Prior spinal cord injuries
• Psychological conditions
• Prior concussions.

Having a pre-existing condition doesn’t prevent you from filing a claim against your own insurance or the other party’s (if you have full tort insurance or have suffered a serious injury), but it does make the process more complex.

If you file a claim against your own insurance, they could refuse to cover some or all of your medical expenses. That can leave you with significant bills you can’t pay. The entire process can grind to a halt, however, if you file a claim against the other party and their insurers won’t accept that the injuries are new.

To be able to hold the other person liable, you must demonstrate that negligence took place. That means showing they owed you a duty of care that they breached. You also have to establish that their conduct was the direct and proximate cause of your injuries. If the insurance company refuses to see your injuries as anything other than a result of your pre-existing condition, you don’t meet the direct and proximate cause requirement. That prevents you from receiving a settlement.

The moment an insurance company discovers that you have a pre-existing condition, you can expect them to try to minimize your claim. For example, imagine that you injured your back at work and experience minor but chronic pain. If you’re in a car accident, the back problem can get worse, affecting your mobility and leading to debilitating pain that doesn’t allow you to work at all. An insurance company can say that this is a continuation of your original injury instead of new losses that occurred because of the crash.

With a lawyer to help you, you can show that if the accident hadn’t happened, you would not have suffered the new injuries.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule

Like all other states, Pennsylvania has an Eggshell Plaintiff Rule (also called the Eggshell Skull Rule) in place to help those who have been in accidents and have pre-existing conditions. Under this rule, the defendant would be liable for any aggravation of pre-existing conditions that their negligent or wrongful conduct caused. They are responsible for the losses even if they were more severe than could have been foreseen.

If you have a previous concussion, for example, a minor hit to the head that might not have caused much damage to another person could be catastrophic to you. Pennsylvania recognizes that you not only deserve compensation for the new injuries but also for the aggravation of the old injury. The defendant is liable for all of this. It makes no difference that another person might not have suffered the same losses.

When You May Be Able to Receive Compensation for a Pre-Existing Injury

After suffering injuries in a car accident, you can receive compensation for a pre-existing injury if you experience new symptoms you didn’t have before the collision or if the accident aggravated your symptoms, leading to more pain, mobility problems, and other issues that require further medical care.

You can also recover losses if you have clear medical records that allow healthcare providers to differentiate between new and old symptoms. This is one of the reasons why keeping thorough records can be essential.

How Car Accident Lawyers Can Help

To file a claim, whether against your own insurance or another party’s, you need to have a lawyer by your side. An attorney will help you gather the evidence to show the accident aggravated your pre-existing condition, and they can get testimonies from medical professionals that corroborate your claim.

Vitally, your car accident attorney will manage all communications with the insurance companies. If you try to do this yourself, you can end up inadvertently saying something that insurers can pounce on and use against you. Your lawyer will carefully communicate with them and start the negotiation process. Because your counsel will have experience and knowledge of the law, they won’t be cowed by the various tactics insurers rely on. As a result, you have a better chance of receiving the compensation you deserve.

Depend on Experienced Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyers

Contact Wapner Newman for Guidance

If you have a pre-existing condition, a car accident can leave you with serious medical problems that insurers may refuse to accept were the result of the accident. To have a chance of recovering compensation for the losses you sustained, hire dedicated and experienced attorneys. At Wapner Newman, we will fiercely fight for your rights.

Call our team of car accident lawyers at (215) 569-0900.