New Injury or Old Injury Worsened?
One of the topics I constantly discuss with clients is that of aggravation of pre-existing injuries. “What dat mean?” you might ask. Buckle up.
First, let’s talk about what it’s not. Let’s say you’re feeling fine and you get in a car accident and THEN your neck and back start hurting. You have no history of neck or back pain and no complaints prior to the accident. You have some neck and back pain after the accident and your doc supports the causation argument that the impact caused soft tissues injuries in and around your spine. THAT’S a new injury. And that’s great. It’s ALWAYS easier to convince a liability carrier to pay for new injuries. What’s not as easy to convincing a carrier that they should pay for aggravation of a pre-existing injury.
Let’s say you were in that accident above and had some neck and back issues. You were in treatment and still suffering from symptoms when BOOM! the gods of the highway curse you with ANOTHER accident. Your neck and back were in pain before, but NOT as bad as they are now after this second accident. What you have now is aggravation of a pre-existing injury, and that’s never easy to win.
When you’re arguing about aggravation of an old injury, how do you prove what percentage of the pain/suffering/etc. was caused by the second impact versus the first? This can be a very difficult thing to do, especially when you have a soft tissue injury that doesn’t really show up on diagnostic imaging. This can lead to a very complex causation discussion involving your treating physician and maybe other experts.
As with many things dealing with personal injury claims, it’s best to seek the help of a professional if you’re having these sorts of questions and concerns. Call an attorney. Call me at 919-929-2992.
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