A pre-existing condition to the same body part will affect how insurers, courts, and juries handle your truck accident claim. You still have a right to recover for the new injury, but an old injury to the same body part complicates the journey. Oregon law allows you to recover compensation for the aggravation and any new injuries.
In cases involving pre-existing conditions and truck accident claims in Portland, insurers often blame everything on the pre-existing condition, downplaying the role of the newer crash. Insurers hire their “independent” medical “experts” for that purpose. Rizk Law attorneys anticipate this tactic. Rizk Law attorneys scour over detailed medical records and testimony and seek opinions from treating doctors to support your claim by showing that the accident caused distinct, measurable changes to your health and daily life.
Understanding Pre-Existing Conditions in Truck Accident Claims
A pre-existing condition is a physical or medical issue that someone already had before the collision. Common examples include old knee injuries, chronic back pain, or previous concussions.
In Oregon, a pre-existing condition does not prevent you from seeking compensation after a truck accident. Oregon courts apply what’s known as the “eggshell plaintiff” rule in these cases. This principle says that at-fault parties must take injured parties as they are, even if the victims are more vulnerable than average due to their physical conditions.
If a crash aggravates an existing injury or condition, victims can pursue compensation for the worsening of the condition, as well as any new injuries. The amount of compensation available depends on the extent to which the incident contributed to any new harm the person suffered.
How Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Your Portland Truck Accident Claim
Truck accident cases involving victims with pre-existing conditions frequently revolve around causation. Insurers and defense teams often insist that a victim’s pain or physical limitations existed before the wreck argued that it was not the cause.
However, Oregon law allows victims to recover compensation if the collision worsens the condition or causes new issues. For instance, a victim may pursue compensation when a crash aggravates a pre-existing slipped disc, resulting in worsened symptoms that require additional medical treatment and time off work to recover.
Medical records, imaging studies, and expert testimony can demonstrate how an injury changed after a crash. A clear medical timeline can show the difference between the old and new symptoms and strengthen the link between the truck accident and the aggravated injury.
Proving Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Injury in a Truck Crash
Collecting comprehensive evidence is crucial to proving that the truck accident aggravated your pre-existing injury or caused new injuries. Medical records from before and after the collision and expert testimony from treating physicians can help you establish:
- How the trauma affects your existing injury
- The degree of aggravation
- That the pre-existing injury is unrelated to your new injuries
- That the accident caused measurable changes to your condition, such as increased pain or loss of mobility
An experienced Portland personal injury attorney can help you identify and present medical evidence showing that the crash made your condition worse. They can also challenge the insurance company’s misrepresentations to present a clear narrative that separates your prior health issues from new crash-related injuries.
Common Insurance Tactics to Minimize Compensation
Insurance companies often look for ways to reduce or deny valid claims involving pre-existing conditions. Common tactics they use include:
- Blaming the entire injury on the prior condition rather than the crash
- Demanding broad medical authorizations to look for unrelated health issues they can exploit
- Misinterpreting medical records to claim that no significant change occurred after the accident
- Pressuring accident victims to accept early, low settlement offers before full evaluation
- Suggesting that previously injured victims deserve less compensation
- Arguing that a victim’s new symptoms are from aging or unrelated daily activities
- Hiring biased medical experts to dispute the extent of the aggravation
- Delaying the claims process to wear down the victim’s willingness to pursue fair compensation
Calculating Compensation When Pre-Existing Conditions Exist
Calculating truck accident compensation in Portland injury cases involving pre-existing conditions requires a clear distinction between your condition before and after the crash. Medical professionals can review your health records to determine the extent of the aggravation, and your Portland personal injury lawyer can use those findings to estimate a fair payout.
Depending on the situation, you could receive financial compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses related to the aggravated condition or additional injuries. The amount you can get depends on the quality of any medical documentation or testimony that clearly links the truck accident to your new or worsened injuries. A well-supported personal injury claim can prevent insurers from minimizing the value of your losses.
Why Hiring a Portland Truck Accident Attorney Matters
Truck accident claims involving pre-existing medical conditions require careful documentation and clear, persuasive arguments. A Portland truck accident lawyer who understands how pre-existing conditions affect injury claims can protect your rights by:
- Securing and organizing detailed medical records from before and after the collision
- Identifying the evidence that will carry the most weight with insurers and juries
- Constructing a timeline that shows how your condition changed after the crash
- Consulting with your doctors and specialists, obtaining expert testimony, and comparing diagnostic scans to show new or worsened injuries
- Preparing treating physicians to explain how the impact of a collision aggravated an existing condition
- Handling communication with the insurance adjusters on your behalf to avoid misstatements or manipulation
- Challenging the insurance companies’ attempts to blame your pain entirely on prior health issues
- Taking your case to court if an insurer refuses to negotiate fairly
Without legal representation, you risk facing insurance companies that know how to exploit gaps in your medical history or statements. They might argue that your pain existed long before the crash or that your injuries have no connection to the accident. They could also pressure you into accepting a low settlement that does not reflect the full impact of your aggravated condition. Having an experienced truck accident attorney on your side can help combat these tactics and protect your right to fair compensation.
Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer in Portland, OR
Many clients turn to Rizk Law after feeling insurance companies ignored or dismissed them. They quickly see how our team’s focus and persistence can change the direction of a case, especially those involving pre-existing injuries and truck accidents. As one client shared:
“The team of attorneys and staff at Rizk Law are sharp, caring, & extremely effective of executing successful strategies for personal injury cases. Their work speaks for itself.” – Hewitt Pagenstecher
If a Portland truck accident made your existing injury worse or caused new harm, you deserve to know what your claim is worth. Although each case is unique and past results cannot guarantee future outcomes, Rizk Law has recovered more than half a million dollars for crash survivors with pre-existing conditions alone, including $460,000 for a car accident victim with a pre-existing concussion that suffered another concussion, a closed head injury, chronic migraines, PTSD, and neck injuries.
At Rizk Law, we understand how to prove the difference between old and new injuries. We also have the added advantage of having founding attorney Richard Rizk on our side, whose former experience as an insurance defense attorney gives us insider knowledge and a unique edge against tricky insurers. Our legal team can review your medical records, handle the insurance companies, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Contact us today for your free consultation to learn more about the impact of prior injuries on accident claims and how we can help you move forward.
