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Will a Pre-existing Condition Affect My Claim?

Will a Pre-existing Condition Affect My Claim?

If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, this may be a confusing and painful time. Your schedule may be filled with many visits to doctors, hospitals, and specialists. To make matters more frustrating, you may wonder if medical problems from before the injury could make your claim even more complicated. If you need answers now, don’t hesitate to contact Veron Bice, LLC online, or call 337-310-1600 today.

What Is a Pre-existing Condition?

preexisting condition

A health issue that was present before a certain event occurred is called a pre-existing condition. In the context of personal injury, this means that the condition existed prior to the date of the accident. This could include many types of ailments, such as back pain, migraine headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many others.

How your pre-existing condition may affect your claim must be examined on a case-by-case basis. A thorough investigation of your personal injury claim will likely include a review of your medical history to determine your level of health prior to the injury. You won’t be entitled to compensation for conditions that were present before the injury. However, you may be entitled to receive compensation if the injury made a pre-existing condition worse.

Should I Mention Any Pre-existing Conditions?

It’s critical that you disclose pre-existing conditions instead of hiding them. While it may seem unrelated to the injury or that the pre-existing condition may be a dealbreaker for your claim, disclose it anyway. Your doctor will need to know about your conditions to prescribe appropriate treatment, and when you tell your doctor, they’ll note the condition in your medical records. Your legal team also needs to know about your pre-existing condition so that they can determine how best to proceed with your case.

The insurance company will likely try to blame your injury on a pre-existing condition as much as possible. However, this does not mean that they will be successful in doing so. Your attorney will compile and examine all medical records, including those about your pre-existing condition. When they know the full story of your previous level of health, they can build a strong case based on solid facts and not misinterpretations. If a pre-existing condition was hidden or denied and then later discovered, this can hurt your credibility. It may also reduce the amount of compensation you may be entitled to receive.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

do i need a lawyer

If you’ve been seriously injured and you have a pre-existing medical condition, you need to receive medical attention. Medical care will give you the best chance of recovery from any injuries you have sustained. You will also begin building the documentation that’s critical for your case. It’s essential that your medical records are thorough so that the relationship between the accident and your injuries can be established.

The insurance company has one goal, which is to pay you as little money as possible. They understand how the system works, and this is what they do, day in and day out. They can take advantage of a person who has never been through this before. If you have a pre-existing condition, they will seek to prove that the condition caused your injury, not the accident. This means that you need a complete, well-documented medical history that clearly lays out all the details.

An experienced personal injury lawyer will build a convincing case for you, considering all compensation to which you may be entitled. This may include lost wages, future earnings, medical bills, medication, future physical therapy, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Your lawyer will also investigate to determine who is at fault for your injury. In Louisiana, the law regarding negligence states that an injured party who is partially at fault for the accident that injured them may receive less compensation than the total of their accident-related losses. For example, if you are 40 percent at fault for the accident, then you could only obtain up to 60 percent of your total losses. You need an experienced attorney on your side to determine who is at fault and to establish the relationship between the accident and your injury.

Contact Us Today

If you have been injured in an accident in Louisiana that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. You should not have to pay for an injury that was caused by someone else. We are attorneys local to Lake Charles, and we have spent our entire law careers in this community and the neighboring areas. Many Louisiana residents have chosen us to represent them, and we know how to get results. We will bring our experience to your case. You can rest assured knowing you are in good hands. 

Contact the Lake Charles personal injury lawyers of Veron Bice, LLC today at 337-310-1600 for a free consultation. We are ready to discuss your case and your options so that you can make the best choice for your needs. We can help you move on from this injury so you can get back to doing what matters most to you.

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Lake Charles, Louisiana

337-310-1601

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