Insurance companies will look at prior injuries (you have had in the past) in evaluating how much your case is worth in terms of pain and suffering money. So it is very important to skillfully contrast your health before the car accident and afterwards. It is better in an injury claim if you were in good health before the car accident but bad health or related or similar injuries at some point in the past do not necessarily mean an injury claim is barred or is not winnable. It is also important with prior injuries to look at how far back the pre-car accident injury was in evaluating your car accident injury in Oregon State and Washington State.

I never tell people who are in car accidents in Oregon state or Washington state to sign medical releases from the insurance company for the at fault party because this will give the insurance claims adjuster a green light to delve into private medical issues that are nobody’s business but your own. I have had many cases where drivers injure their back or neck and have had prior back and neck injuries. Peterson Law Offices’ staff of lawyers and paralegals have a lot of experience in evaluating and distinguishing prior injuries with the injuries you suffered in the car accident.

If the evaluation of your medical history is not properly performed and this information is not thoroughly explained and documented to the insurance company if may affect your bottom line which should be a maximum injury settlement that you as a victim deserve. There is a maxim called the Egg Shell Plaintiff Theory of recovery. This means the person who is liable and at fault is responsible to his or her victim no matter what the consequences. Elderly accident victims may suffer greater injuries than a healthy twenty something accident victim. Children accident victims may suffer greater injuries than adults.

The Egg Shell Plaintiff Theory applies to prior injuries too, so if you suffered injuries in the car accident and are worse off for it. The at-fault party is responsible for your car accident injuries even if you hurt that area before or it aggravated and made worse a preexisting injury.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Injuries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.