What Prior Injuries Really Mean for Your Personal Injury Case
One question that comes up in almost every personal injury case is this:
This usually comes up after you have already started treatment and the insurance adjuster starts pushing back. They will say something like,
“We know you’re hurt, but not all of this is from the accident.”
This is one of the most common ways insurance companies try to reduce the value of a claim
How Insurance Companies Use Prior Injuries Against You
Insurance companies look for what we call prior injuries. Their argument is simple. They claim some or all of your treatment would have happened anyway because of something that existed before the accident.
In other words, they try to shift the blame away from their insured and onto your medical history.
That does not mean they are right.
It just means we have to be prepared to address it.
Prior Treatment Does Not Kill a Case
A lot of people worry that if they ever went to the doctor before, they do not have a case. That is not true.
For example:
- You might have gone to the ER three years ago for back pain
- You got muscle relaxers or pain medication
- You felt better and went back to normal life
- No ongoing treatment
- No MRI
- No injections
- No surgery
That is very different from being in a car wreck, getting an MRI, needing epidural injections, and now being told surgery is on the table.
Those are not the same injuries.
Our job is to show the difference.
Why We Ask for Prior Medical Records
When prior injuries come up, we take control of the situation.
We will ask you where you treated in the five years before the accident. We order those records and review them carefully. We look for:
- What body part was involved
- How serious it was
- How long it lasted
- Whether you fully recovered
If there was no treatment at all during that time, we may ask you to sign a sworn statement confirming that.
This is how we stay ahead of the insurance company.
Honesty Is Critical
One of the worst things that can happen in a case is not the existence of a prior injury.
It is forgetting to disclose it.
If something shows up later that you did not tell us about, the insurance company will not focus on the injury. They will focus on credibility. They will argue you were hiding something.
That is much harder to fix.
If you went to the ER, saw a chiropractor, or had any treatment that might be related, tell us. Even if it feels minor. Even if it feels old.
We can deal with prior injuries.
We cannot deal with surprises.
Even Serious Prior Injuries Can Be Managed
We have handled cases where clients had prior back surgery, prior injections, or long-term conditions. If their pain was controlled, their condition was stable, and they were living their life before the accident, that matters.
If the accident made everything worse, that matters.
As long as we know the full picture, we can explain it, document it, and fight for you.
The Bottom Line
Having a prior injury does not mean you do not have a case. It means we need to be smart, prepared, and honest.
If we ask for prior medical information, help us gather it. The more complete the picture, the stronger your case will be.
And if you have questions about how prior injuries affect your situation, we are happy to talk it through.
In pain? Call Shane at 980-999-9999.
