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Having a pre-existing medical condition does not mean you lose the right to pursue compensation when someone else’s negligence causes a new injury or makes an existing problem worse. A person with chronic back pain can still suffer additional spinal damage in a car accident. Someone with arthritis may experience significantly greater pain or limitations after a fall. An old injury that had been manageable for years can suddenly become much more serious after another accident.
In Michigan, the important question is not simply whether you had a medical condition before the accident. It is whether the accident caused a new injury or aggravated your existing condition. Michigan’s civil jury instructions specifically recognize compensation for increased pain, disability, and related expenses caused by the aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
Can a Pre-Existing Condition Prevent You From Recovering Compensation?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation for harm caused or worsened by an accident.
Michigan law recognizes that an injured person may already have health problems before an accident occurs. If another person’s negligence makes those problems worse, the responsible party may still be liable for the additional harm caused by the accident.
This can apply to many existing conditions, including:
- Previous back or neck injuries
- Arthritis or degenerative conditions
- Prior surgeries
- Joint problems
- Chronic pain
- Previous concussions or head injuries
The key is being able to distinguish your condition before the accident from the new symptoms, limitations, or increased treatment needs that followed it.
How Do You Prove an Accident Made Your Condition Worse?
Medical records and evidence showing how your health changed after the accident can help establish aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
Insurance companies may review your prior medical history closely and argue that your pain or limitations existed before the accident. That makes documentation especially important.
Medical records from before and after the incident can help show whether your symptoms became more severe, whether you required additional treatment, or whether your ability to work and complete normal activities changed after the accident.
Michigan courts recognize that a person seeking compensation must still prove that the accident actually aggravated the pre-existing condition. The existence of the condition alone is not enough.
What If You Were More Vulnerable to Injury Than Someone Else?
Being unusually susceptible to an injury does not necessarily relieve a negligent person of responsibility for the harm they caused.
Michigan’s Model Civil Jury Instructions reflect a principle sometimes referred to as the “eggshell plaintiff” rule. In simple terms, a negligent person generally must take an injured person as they find them. Someone cannot avoid responsibility simply because the victim had a condition that made the effects of an accident more serious than they might have been for someone else.
However, a claim should focus on the additional harm caused by the accident rather than attempting to hold another person responsible for a medical problem that existed beforehand.
What Evidence Can Help Support Your Claim?
You should preserve medical records, document changes in your symptoms, and be open about your medical history from the beginning.
Useful evidence may include:
Prior medical records: These can establish what your condition looked like before the accident.
Post-accident medical records: New diagnoses, additional treatment, imaging, therapy, or changes in medication may help document how your condition changed.
Doctor opinions: Medical providers may be able to explain whether the accident worsened an existing injury or condition.
Work and activity records: Missed work or changes in your ability to perform normal activities can help demonstrate how the accident affected your daily life.
Personal documentation: Keeping track of increased pain, mobility problems, sleep difficulties, or other changes may also help provide context for your medical records.
Trying to hide a previous injury can damage credibility later. An attorney can instead use your medical history to show what changed because of the accident.
Navigating a Personal Injury Claim With a Pre-Existing Condition
Claims involving pre-existing conditions can become particularly challenging when an insurance company argues that the accident did not cause your current symptoms. Separating an old condition from a new injury or aggravation may require detailed medical records, expert opinions, and a careful understanding of how your health changed after the incident.
Michigan Accident Attorneys can review your medical history, investigate the accident, gather evidence showing how your condition changed, and respond when an insurance company attempts to attribute your injuries entirely to a pre-existing problem. If an accident in Michigan made an existing injury or medical condition worse, call (877) 225-5622 or contact us online for a free consultation.
