If the victim of an automobile accident has a pre-existing condition, the insurance company for the responsible driver might claim that the victim’s problems had been recognized by doctors even before the involved vehicles collided. Alternatively, the insurer might insist that, in light of the patient’s condition, more effort could have been exerted, in order to keep from aggravating that same condition.

Was the victim’s condition made worse by the accident?

That is the question that has to be answered. The attorney for the injured victim needs to produce evidence that can show that the answer to the above question is “yes.” If someone’s preexisting condition gets worse, following a collision, the negligent driver should be held liable for the increased amount of time and money that has to be directed at helping the injured victim.

How to prove that a given condition worsened as the result of an accident

Make it clear to those that will determine the settlement or the award the nature of the victim’s condition. What part of the victim’s body was different from that of the average person, even before the collision took place? Had that difference caused the victim to suffer pain or discomfort during the days leading up to the collision?

Produce medical records, which show that the victim was in reasonable health during the days before the accident.

Produce medical records, along with proof of medical expenses, in order to show that the victim’s existing problem got worse or produced evidence of complications during the days that followed the accident.

At what rate did the victim’s condition get worse?

That is an important question, because medical evidence shows that some conditions do worsen over time. Can it be shown that the rate at which a given victim’s condition was getting worse increased, following an accidental occurrence? If the rate of the progression does not appear to accelerate following the accident, the victim might have to deal with a decreased compensation.

What else could get worse, besides the victim’s preexisting condition?

If the injury forced the victim to undergo surgery, and that procedure aided introduction of an infection, then the victim’s overall health would have declined. If the injured victim received a treatment, such as some medication, and that triggered development of problems, then those problems would have impaired some function within the victim’s body.

This last possibility might prove quite difficult to prove. It could be that, when measured by medical experts, the affected function exhibits an exceedingly slow rate of decline. Hence, the statute of limitations would keep even the best Personal Injury Lawyer in St. Catharines from gaining the right to make the negligent person liable for that one particular problem.