After an accident, it’s common to worry that your medical history will be used against you. If you’ve had back pain, arthritis, migraines, old fractures, or previous surgery, you may wonder whether you can still make a strong injury claim. In most situations, a pre-existing condition does not cancel your rights. What matters is whether the crash caused a new injury or made an existing condition worse.
Insurance companies often focus on pre-existing conditions because it gives them a reason to argue that your pain is “not from the accident.” They may claim your symptoms were already there or that you would have needed treatment anyway. That’s why understanding how these claims work—and how to document the difference between before and after—can make a major difference. If you’re dealing with these arguments, Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe can help you show what the collision changed and why the at-fault party should still be responsible.
Pre-Existing Conditions Don’t Mean Your Injuries Aren’t Real
A pre-existing condition simply means you had a health issue before the crash. It does not mean your current pain is imagined or unrelated. Many people function well with controlled symptoms, occasional flare-ups, or old injuries that no longer affect daily life. A collision can trigger a flare-up, increase pain, reduce mobility, or create new symptoms.
For example, someone with mild degenerative disc disease may have worked full-time and lived normally with occasional stiffness. After a crash, that same person may experience sharp pain, radiating symptoms, weakness, or numbness. Even if the MRI shows “degeneration,” the key issue is whether the crash caused a measurable change in symptoms and function.
The Most Common Issue: Aggravation Of A Prior Condition
In accident claims, aggravation is often the central concept. If a crash makes a prior condition worse, the at-fault driver can still be responsible for that worsening. The law generally recognizes that people aren’t required to be perfectly healthy to deserve compensation. If negligence made your life harder, the negligent party may owe damages for the added harm.
Aggravation can show up in many ways: pain becomes stronger or more frequent, you can’t do the same activities, you need more aggressive treatment, or you develop new limits at work. The clearer the before-and-after difference, the harder it is for an insurer to dismiss the claim as “just your old issue.”
New Injury Vs. Worsened Injury: Why The Distinction Matters
Sometimes a crash causes a completely new injury. Other times it worsens an older one in the same area. Both can support a claim, but they’re proven differently. A new injury may be easier to connect if it appears clearly in imaging or clinical findings that weren’t present before.
A worsened injury often relies on comparison. Prior records can show what your baseline looked like before the crash—how often you needed care, what symptoms you had, and how well you functioned. Post-crash records show what changed: new complaints, increased treatment, stronger prescriptions, new restrictions, and more severe findings. The goal is a clear story supported by medical proof.
Why Insurance Companies Dig Into Your Past
Insurance adjusters often request prior medical records to find alternate explanations. If you had a back complaint years ago, they may argue the crash didn’t cause your current pain. If you had anxiety, they may argue emotional distress isn’t crash-related. If you had a prior shoulder injury, they may claim your shoulder was already failing.
This is also why recorded statements can be dangerous. Insurers may ask leading questions that are designed to get you to admit the injury is “old.” The better focus is whether you were stable and functioning before the crash and became worse after. The facts of your daily life matter as much as diagnosis labels.
Medical Documentation Is The Strongest Way To Prove “Before And After”
The strongest claims usually rest on good medical records. If you have prior records, they can show your baseline condition. Post-crash records show new symptoms, new findings, and the increased need for treatment. Doctors’ notes about decreased range of motion, increased pain, and functional limits help prove a real change.
Consistency matters too. If you wait a long time to see a doctor, insurers may argue the crash didn’t cause the injury. Following treatment recommendations, attending therapy, and reporting symptoms clearly helps build a timeline that supports your claim.
Be Honest About Medical History—Hiding It Can Harm Your Case
Many people feel tempted to minimize or hide a pre-existing condition because they fear it will weaken the claim. Usually, that backfires. Insurers often find prior treatment history anyway. If your records and your statements don’t match, they may attack your credibility and use that to reduce or deny the claim.
Honesty also helps your healthcare providers. When doctors know your history, they can describe whether the crash caused a flare-up, a new injury, or a serious decline. Those medical opinions can carry significant weight in negotiations.
Examples Of Pre-Existing Conditions That Often Come Up
Pre-existing conditions often arise in car accident claims, especially with prior injuries or health issues. The key factor is not whether the condition was present before the crash, but how the collision affected symptoms, treatment, and overall functioning.
Common examples include:
- Degenerative disc disease affecting the neck or back
- Arthritis in joints such as the knees, hips, shoulders, or spine
- Prior surgeries that were stable before the crash but become symptomatic afterward
- Old fractures that cause renewed pain or mobility problems
- Past soft-tissue injuries involving muscles, ligaments, or tendons
- Chronic headaches or migraines that increase in frequency or intensity after a collision
- Mental health conditions, such as anxiety, that worsen following a traumatic crash
How Compensation Works When A Condition Existed Before
In most cases, compensation focuses on the extra harm caused by the crash. That can include additional medical care, increased pain, lost wages, reduced work capacity, and future treatment needs tied to the worsening. Insurers often try to discount the entire claim because you weren’t “perfectly healthy,” but that’s not a fair approach.
A stronger approach separates baseline from worsening as much as possible. Medical opinions can explain what care was needed before, what changed after, and why the crash caused additional damage. Even when it’s hard to draw a perfect line, clear records and consistent treatment help show the crash’s impact.
Pre-Existing Conditions Require Proof, Not Defeat
Pre-existing conditions are common, and they do not automatically block car accident injury claims. Many cases involve people who had prior issues, but were functioning before a crash made their symptoms worse. The key is showing the change with clear medical documentation and consistent records.
If an insurer tries to blame everything on your past, focus on evidence: what your life looked like before the crash and what it looks like now. With the right documentation and a clear strategy, it’s possible to pursue a fair outcome even when a prior condition exists.
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