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When an individual is injured in a motor vehicle accident, he or she might experience a variety of injuries that range from mild to extremely severe. But what happens if that injured individual already had a number of pre-existing medical issues that were aggravated as a result of the accident? Will that individual still be able to recover compensation from the person or entity that caused the accident? Your Fort Myers personal injury attorney will tell you that although pursuing a personal injury claim may be made more difficult if the injured party already had similar injuries, it does not necessarily mean that individual cannot be compensated.

Injured individuals should be aware that, depending on the facts of the case, they may be entitled to receive compensation for any physical and/or mental conditions that were worsened as a result of the accident. But there are a few things that accident victims must keep in mind when pursuing a personal injury claim when they have pre-existing injuries. Personal injury attorney Randall Spivey can help ensure that you, as the accident victim, recover the just compensation you deserve for your injuries.

People Who Cause Accidents Must Take Victims as They Find Them

From a legal standpoint, whenever drivers cause injuries to accident victims, they must "take the plaintiffs (the injured individuals) as they find them." Such accident victims are commonly referred to as "eggshell plaintiffs," which means that the injured parties were already a bit fragile prior to the occurrence of the accident.

For example, if an accident would not have ordinarily harmed a healthy individual's spine but the accident aggravated and/or reinjured the person's spine or another area of his or her back, and that person already had spine issues, the person who caused the accident will have to take the victim as he/she is, and accordingly, that individual will likely be held responsible for any additional damages that were incurred as a result of the accident.

But as your Fort Myers personal injury attorney knows, claims that involve accident victims who have pre-existing injuries often come with their own set of challenges. That said, it is very important for accident victims to fully disclose the existence of any and all prior injuries, regardless of the type of injury. Failure to advise your attorney of such injuries, particularly if the accident has affected the same body part, can significantly impact the value of your total claim.

Reviewing and Comparing Medical Documentation

When accident victims suffer from pre-existing injuries, one advantage that a skilled personal injury lawyer will have is that he or she will be able to review and compare their client's past medical records with the current records in order to make a determination on how the accident caused their client's conditions to worsen.

Your attorney can get assistance from a medical expert who will be able to testify as to how the accident affected and/or worsened the your medical conditions. That expert can also make a determination with respect to the amount and/or degree of pain the individual might have suffered both prior to and after the accident.

If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident and you had pre-existing injuries at the time of the accident, contact Randall Spivey, Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney at The Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., as soon as possible.