If you have been injured in a car accident in Colorado, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your injuries. However, insurance companies and defense attorneys will work hard to deny or devalue your claim. One way they do this is by arguing that your injuries were pre-existing.
Pre-existing conditions do not bar you from recovering compensation for damages. However, they can make your claim more challenging. You need the assistance of an experienced car accident attorney in Denver to protect your rights and help you secure maximum compensation for your damages.
The Eggshell Skull Rule
Colorado law recognizes a legal theory called the “eggshell skull” or “thin skull” rule, which helps protect injury victims who have pre-existing conditions. The premise is that the injury victim may have been more likely to suffer injury due to their pre-existing condition, but that does not bar or mitigate their damages.
A person with a pre-existing condition must be taken “as-is” at the time of the car accident, and the at-fault party will still be liable for the damages they caused the person.
Therefore, the defendant will not be liable for an injury that already existed; however, they are responsible if their negligence exacerbates it or causes additional damages.
What Are Pre-existing Conditions?
A pre-existing condition is any medical issue a person has before their car accident, even if they had not been diagnosed before the accident. Pre-existing conditions could include prior surgeries, prior injuries to the same area of the body, arthritis, high blood pressure, obesity, and depression.
Insurance Companies and Pre-existing Conditions
Insurance companies seem to love pre-existing conditions. The goal of an insurance company is to make a profit, and to do that, they will work hard to find anything they can use to devalue or deny your claim.
An insurance adjuster is likely to claim that the injuries caused by their insured driver already existed at the time of the accident. They will scrutinize your medical records, hoping to find some prior medical issue that they can point to as the cause of your damages.
They may also claim that your injuries would have happened anyway because of your pre-existing condition. This argument attempts to prove that the accident was not the cause of your injury and that your pre-existing condition is the cause.
They may also try to use a pre-existing condition to reduce the amount of damages they pay by arguing that some of your treatment and pain and suffering stem from the pre-existing condition rather than the car accident.
How a Denver Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You
An experienced Denver car accident lawyer can help protect your rights and combat the insurance companies’ arguments regarding pre-existing conditions. Your attorney can help you document your injuries before and after the accident by obtaining your medical records and preparing a detailed summary of your condition before and after the accident.
They can work with medical experts to help prove that your current damages were caused by the car accident rather than by your pre-existing condition.
Your accident attorney in Denver will gather the most compelling evidence to build your strongest case and help you maximize your compensation.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Denver Car Accident Attorney
At Dan Caplis Law, our Colorado car accident attorneys have decades of proven experience helping car accident victims secure the maximum compensation they deserve. We know how to deal with insurance companies even when you have pre-existing conditions. Let us help you.
Call (303) 770-5551 or complete the short form on our contact page and schedule a free consultation to discuss your car accident claim.