It is not always the case that a person suing for a personal injury is in perfect physical condition. Someone may have a prior injury, chronic condition, degenerative changes, and/or other medical condition prior to the accident. If there are new symptoms which develop thereafter, finding out what has changed can be significant in the understanding of the claim. Symptoms that occur after an accident cannot be blamed on a preexisting condition.
The problem for Corpus Christi TX personal injury lawyers attorneys is that often they are faced with determining whether the person suffered the medical condition before the accident or after the accident. This needs more than just a pre-accident diagnosis to be compared to a later diagnosis. A history of the injury, medical records, and symptomology, treatment history, diagnostic information, and the timing of changes may all be relevant in assessing the impact of an injury on an existing condition.
Establishing the Pre-Injury Health Status
A first step is often deciding what the condition of the person's body was prior to the accident. A medical history can give an idea of what the patient's symptoms and limitations are compared to in the future.
Attorneys can request records that include:
Past diagnoses – These can help to determine if some conditions were present prior to the incident.
Previous symptoms – If the person had a pain, weakness, decreased mobility, or other symptoms before, it will be noted on the records.
History – The history of treatment before the diagnosis was made–medication, physical therapy, injections, or surgery, or other treatment can offer an insight into how a condition was treated prior.
Previous imaging – Any previous imaging (X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, etc.) can be a comparison.
Daily activities – Records and testimony can be used to identify what kind of activities the person was able to do prior to the accident.
It is important to note that this baseline is important since a person does not automatically have a preexisting diagnosis that is the condition immediately prior to the incident.
Two people can have the same diagnosis, for instance, but be very different with regard to the symptoms and physical restriction they have. One person might have been able to function normally with only slight treatment, another might have been seriously impaired.
Examining the Onset and Progression of Symptoms
A preexisting condition's timing can also be helpful when considering it. Attorneys can review the onset of symptoms, worsening symptoms, and speed to medical care.
Your medical records could contain information that looks like this:
A PCP receives a referral from the family for a patient who has preexisting conditions, the patient has a car accident, new or aggravated symptoms occur, the patient is evaluated by a medical doctor, and the medical doctor orders additional treatment.
The order in which it occurs is not necessarily indicative of a cause and effect relationship. Many factors can cause symptoms and a person's medical history could include several contributing factors. Nevertheless, chronology can assist medical practitioners and attorneys in understanding how and when things changed.
Attorneys can also check on the person's claims of the accident against the medical records that have been generated since the time of the accident. When the same body area was recognized right after the event and was still being treated, this information might be included in the general investigation.
By contrast, when the gap between the accident and onset of symptoms is large, it may generate further questions regarding events that took place during that time.
Keeping Medical and Legal Issues Separately
There are medical and legal issues involved in preexisting condition cases; these are not synonymous. The medical evidence could be on the type of the injury, the symptoms that developed, or whether an accident might have aggravated the medical condition. The facts are then analyzed in the context of the rules for liability and damages that are applicable.
Attorneys can then look at the medical evidence in conjunction with other information such as:
- Accident reports
- Witness statements
- Employment records
- Descriptions of physical skills
- Treatment records
- Activity limitations
- If appropriate, opinions of experts in medical care.
- Record of cost and damage incurred.
These various sources are most effective when combined and used in analysis, as opposed to a single medical record or diagnosis.
There should also be a proper context of a pre-existing condition. Just knowing about the diagnosis in the past may tell us only half the truth. An important question to consider is if the person's condition, symptoms, treatment, or functioning has changed after the incident.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a person's preexisting disease or condition be a defense to a personal injury cause of action?
Not necessarily. A previous disease does not necessarily influence whether or not a person has a valid claim. Assessment of circumstances of accident and changes that followed should be done.
Does an accident exacerbate an existing condition?
An accident may potentially aggravate an existing condition. It's a broad question that usually needs to be thoroughly investigated through the individual's symptoms, medical record, treatment, and other factors.
What if symptoms developed some time after?
Even if an accident occurred a long time ago, this does not preclude a connection. The time should be taken into account with medical records, circumstances of the incident, and other evidence.
Conclusion
A person's medical history is made up of pre-existing problems, which need to be carefully analyzed, as well as significant changes that may have occurred after an accident. The person's condition following an incident may not be explained by a previous diagnosis. The attorneys may then review the medical baseline, look at previous medical records and subsequent medical records, assess symptomology, treatment, and the timing of symptomology and treatment.
A thorough review may be helpful in determining what was present before the accident, and what may have been added after the accident. Through the use of medical evidence, in addition to the accident records, functional changes, and other relevant paperwork, a personal injury case can attempt to provide a more complete picture of how the individual was functioning before the accident and after the accident.