Preexisting conditions come up a lot with health insurance issues, but they are also important factors in injury cases. Trying to prove that you were injured in an accident when you already had another injury or condition makes the case harder.
Under the law in Maryland, you can receive compensation for an injury even if you have a preexisting condition. However, this new lawsuit only covers the new injuries or worsened conditions. You can never receive compensation for the effects of an injury or condition that was already there before the accident, and your lawyer has to separate this harm from the new harm.
For a free case review for an injury claim, call Rice Law’s Maryland personal injury attorneys at (443) 234-0279.
What Counts as a Preexisting Injury?
If you sue for an accident, the other side might claim that your injuries were already there before this accident. This paints you as someone who is trying to pass another injury off as part of this claim.
Whether it is an injury or another health condition that was there first, that qualifies as a “preexisting injury” or “preexisting condition.”
Getting Damages for a New Injury or Worsened Condition
In many cases, people do have preexisting injuries or conditions, but Maryland law still lets them get compensation in a new lawsuit or insurance claim.
Generally, you can sue for any injuries that result from this accident.
Example
For example, if you slipped and fell on a store’s un-shoveled sidewalk and broke your leg, you should be entitled to sue them for the broken leg.
Old Injuries Do Not Stop Liability
If you were walking on crutches when the accident happened because your ankle was already sprained, but now it’s broken, you should still be able to sue for your new broken leg.
Your current condition is worse than it was before, so you suffered new damages.
Separating Preexisting Injuries from New Injuries
The preexisting injury in this case will be separated out from the new injury. You can only get damages for the new harms.
For example, if you already had $1,000 in medical bills for your sprained ankle but your new broken leg costs you $5,000, you can sue for $5,000. The $1,000 from your sprained ankle will never be claimed in this lawsuit.
Identifying Worsened Condition
“Worsened condition” is a bit different from a wholly new injury. This commonly includes opening an old wound or re-injuring an old injury.
For example, if your leg was already broken before the accident, and it re-breaks in this new accident, you can still sue for the new damages. That includes new medical care you needed, the worsened condition of your leg, and the new pain and suffering that you faced.
Example of Complicated Damages with Worsened Condition
A broken bone is a common example of a complicated situation.
Original Injury
With your initial broken bone, you might face 6-8 weeks off work. If your new accident happened 2 weeks into your 6-week healing process, you’re still expected to be laid up for 4 more weeks.
Additional Damages
If you break the bone again, you’ll face a fresh 6-8 weeks out. Subtracting the 4 weeks you were already going to lose, you are only losing 2-4 additional weeks of damages. That means you can’t sue for 6-8 weeks of damages in the new case, just 2-4 weeks.
“Eggshell Skull” Rule in Maryland Injury Cases
If you suffered more harm in your accident than most ordinary people would have because you already had an injury or condition, the defendant cannot get off the hook just because you were “more fragile” than other people.
Traditional Rule
This is traditionally known as the “eggshell skull” rule, using the hypothetical example of a plaintiff injuring their skull made of eggshell. Even if a “normal person’s” head would have been okay after the accident, the fact that this plaintiff’s skull actually broke still allows them to sue for that injury.
Realistic Examples
In more realistic examples, this often comes up in cases where elderly or disabled people are injured. Because of their preexisting conditions – or simply because of their age – they might be more vulnerable to injury than other “normal” people.
Foreseeability Matters
No matter how serious the injuries are in an accident, the defendant is responsible as long as they are “foreseeable.” This often comes up alongside the eggshell skull rule to make defendants pay very high damages for elderly victims, young victims, or people with preexisting disabilities.
Death from a Simple Accident
For example, most people in a slip and fall might break a bone or sprain an ankle. If someone hits their head, suffers a brain bleed, and dies, the law still allows their family to sue for their death even if that outcome was unlikely.
Rarity Not an Issue
You can sue for what actually happened, as long as it was foreseeable. You are not limited to what was expected or most likely.
It doesn’t matter how rare an outcome is if it actually happened.
Preexisting Conditions in Car Accidents
If you suffered additional harm because of a previous injury or condition, you can still get full compensation for the injuries that a car accident causes you.
Injured People Are Allowed to Be in Cars
Just because someone has a preexisting injury or condition does not mean that they have to stay away from cars. The core cause of the accident here is the other driver’s violations or unsafe driving, and they should be held liable for any and all injuries that result.
This is true, even if the injuries were worse because of the victim’s preexisting conditions.
Conditions that Affect Ability to Drive
However, some conditions and disabilities make it illegal to drive. If you ignore the law and drive anyway, your preexisting condition can actually be used to hold you responsible for driving unsafely.
For example, a blind person obviously should not drive. They would likely be at fault for a crash if they did try to drive.
Other health conditions like epilepsy could also make driving too dangerous and put you at fault if you did it anyway.
Premises Liability Accidents
Injuries involving structural collapses, slip and falls, trip and falls, falls from heights, drowning, and other similar accidents on someone else’s property are the most likely to involve a preexisting injury or disability.
A broken ankle, use of a walker or wheelchair, and other conditions that make it harder to get around often increase the risk of injury from dangerous conditions.
Objective Standards
Ultimately, courts look at whether an alleged danger is objectively dangerous, but they must take the totality of the circumstances into consideration. The fact that a property owner did not expect someone in a wheelchair to come to their property might not make a difference when it comes to what their duty is.
Effect of Building Codes
Building codes usually require accommodations to keep buildings safe and accessible for disabled people. The fact that the building had no disabled tenants or guests at the time will be no excuse for failing to follow codes that affect wheelchair users or other disabled people.
Medical Malpractice
When it comes to the proper care that a doctor should provide a patient, the specific circumstances will dictate what is considered negligent or not. Preexisting conditions sometimes come into play.
Age and Prior Health History
A patient’s age and health history must all be taken into account when diagnosing and treating patients, or else the doctor could be negligent.
For example, a 16-year-old with chest pain probably isn’t having a heart attack. Even so, the doctor may need to check their chart for prior conditions. For example, if this specific patient has a heart condition and had 3 prior heart attacks, turning them away just because of their age would likely be malpractice.
Failing to check for preexisting conditions could, itself, be negligent.
Preexisting Conditions Are Essential in Healthcare
Doctors often overlook things like hypertension, autoimmune disorders, previous surgeries, endometriosis, complications with previous pregnancies, and more, leading to negligent care.
Discrimination
In many situations, these conditions coincide with the patient’s race or sex and might constitute discrimination as well as negligence.
Birth Injuries
While birth injuries fall under the category of “medical malpractice,” there are some unique situations where a preexisting injury is treated quite differently in the birth injury context.
Preexisting Conditions Are Common in Birth Injuries
First, many “birth injuries” result because the doctor overlooked a preexisting condition or the mere risk of a preexisting condition. For example, if the mother or the baby is found to have a condition that leads to a high-risk pregnancy, the doctor often needs to take additional precautions.
“Wrongful Birth” Claims Are Based on Preexisting Conditions
Another very unique situation is in “wrongful birth” cases. In these cases, the doctor often overlooks a known medical condition or fails to test the fetus for a condition they might be at a high risk for.
Often, conditions of this nature would mean the pregnancy is not viable and should have been terminated to prevent the mother or the baby from suffering. When the doctor makes mistakes or fails to consider risky health conditions, they can be responsible for a dangerous pregnancy that should have been terminated earlier.
Work Accidents
Employers often blame work injuries on preexisting injuries or conditions. It is a common refrain from employers and Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers to claim that an injury happened outside of work and that the worker is lying or committing fraud by trying to pass it off as a work injury.
As long as work tasks contribute substantially to the injury or worsened condition, work injury claims are still possible.
Call Our Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Reach out to Rice Law at (443) 234-0279 for a free case evaluation with our Aberdeen personal injury attorneys.