Am I Eligible to Make a Claim?
If you suffered an injury due to negligence, you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation. This could include incidents such as a…
Read moreCan I claim for an existing injury or illness?
If an existing injury or illness is made worse as a result of an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could still be eligible to claim compensation.
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Many people may already be suffering from a pre-existing condition such as a back injury, an old fracture or a muscle sprain when they are involved in an accident. However, having an existing injury does not mean they cannot pursue a claim if the accident made their injury worse.
As long as the injury or illness was at least partially due to someone else’s negligence, you can still claim compensation for the pain and suffering they have caused you.
While it may not always be easy to prove how your condition was exacerbated by the accident, a specialist solicitor will help you gather everything you need to support your claim.
It is, however, essential to disclose any pre-existing injuries at the outset of the case. If you fail to do this and your pre-existing injury is discovered later, it could jeopardise your claim.
To find out if you are eligible to claim compensation for an injury made worse by an accident, call 0800 470 0474 today or enter your details into our online claim form to request a call back. A legal adviser will answer all your questions with no obligation to proceed.
By submitting this form you agree to be contacted by our partners. Find out how we handle your data in our privacy policy. With no win no fee you typically pay 25% of your compensation if your claim is successful, but the fee can vary. Termination fees may apply if you fail to co-operate with your solicitor.
A pre-existing injury is any medical condition or injury you had before being involved in an accident that made the pre-existing condition worse. There are two ways in which an accident can impact a pre-existing health condition:
This refers to a situation where an accident causes a pre-existing condition to get worse sooner than it naturally would have. For example, if you have mild arthritis that would have naturally worsened over the next ten years, but an accident speeds up this process, causing it to become severe in two years instead.
This occurs when a pre-existing condition is aggravated, becoming more severe or symptomatic due to an accident. It does not alter the condition’s natural progression or timeline but makes the current symptoms worse. For example, if you suffer from chronic back pain and the accident has increased the intensity or frequency of your pain.
If an accident worsened or aggravated a pre-existing health condition or injury you suffer from, it may be possible to claim compensation for the harm caused to you.
If you were involved in an accident that made a pre-existing medical condition or injury worse, you may be able to claim compensation. The easiest way to find out if you could claim is through a free consultation with a legal adviser. They will pair you with a solicitor who is right for you if the following are true:
A duty of care will be established based on the relevant legislation, according to the circumstances of your accident. For example, if you had an accident at work, your employer could be liable under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. If you were involved in a car accident, the other party may have breached the Road Traffic Act 1988, and so on. Your solicitor will know what laws apply to your case and will help you gather all the evidence you need to secure personal injury compensation.
The eggshell skull rule, also known as the thin skull rule, is a principle of law that applies to personal injury cases where the claimant has a pre-existing condition. The rule states that the defendant is responsible for all the harm caused, even if the damages are unusually high because the claimant was particularly fragile or had a pre-existing injury.
The term comes from the idea that if a person has a skull as delicate as an eggshell and suffers severe injury or death from a minor impact, the person who caused the accident is fully liable. The rule emphasises that the defendant must ‘take their victim as they find them’ and applies regardless of whether they knew about the pre-existing condition.
A person’s vulnerability does not reduce the defendant’s responsibility for the harm caused, even if a healthier person would not have been injured as severely. This way, the claimant will be compensated for the actual damage caused to them and not based on what would have happened to a healthier person.
If you were involved in an accident and you want to make a personal injury claim, it is essential to disclose any pre-existing conditions you have from the beginning. You must be sincere and upfront with your solicitor about your medical history, as failure to do so could severely damage your claim.
You should also maintain open and honest communication with them throughout the claims process and inform them of any updates on your medical progress.
When you start a claim, you are legally obligated to provide honest and accurate information. Failure to disclose a pre-existing injury could be considered fraud and severely damage your credibility. Furthermore, you have no reason to hide your illness or medical condition. Under the eggshell rule mentioned above, the defendant will be liable for the full extent of the damage caused, even if you were more susceptible due to your pre-existing injury.
Accidents can exacerbate a wide range of pre-existing conditions and injuries, such as:
In addition to the above, there are many other conditions that could be worsened by an accident. If another person is responsible for your accident, you are still eligible to claim compensation, regardless of your pre-existing circumstances.
Virtually any accident could make a medical condition worse, including:
If you were injured in an accident that was caused by someone else, you could still be eligible to claim compensation, regardless of any pre-existing conditions.
It can be more difficult and complex to prove that a pre-existing condition was made worse by an accident. That’s why it is crucial to visit a doctor as soon as possible after an accident. Swift medical evaluation is essential to get a complete understanding of your symptoms before and after the incident.
Your solicitor will work closely with you and your healthcare provider and will help you gather reliable evidence of how your condition was worsened by the defendant’s negligence. They will:
They will also help you collect all the other necessary evidence to secure compensation, as detailed in the section below.
Regardless of your accident, you will need various types of evidence to support your claim for personal injury compensation. This could include:
According to the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit to start a personal injury claim is generally three years after an accident. If symptoms do not become immediately apparent, the three years could begin to run from the date of knowledge. This refers to when you became aware of the new injury or worsening of your condition and that it was someone else’s fault.
The Limitation Act does provide a few exceptions to the standard three year rule, such as:
The compensation you could receive for an accident that worsened a pre-existing condition will be calculated based on two types of damages:
The compensation awarded to you for general damages will depend on how much pain and suffering the aggravation of your condition has caused you. This will be calculated based on the guidelines from the Judicial College. Here are a few examples:
If you are entitled to claim for a pre-existing medical condition, a personal injury solicitor will offer you a no win no fee agreement. This service allows you access to legal representation regardless of your financial situation, as there are no upfront costs.
Furthermore, making a claim is risk-free, as you only pay your solicitor if you have a successful claim. In this case, they will receive a pre-agreed percentage of your settlement, capped at 25% of general damages and past financial losses. If you lose, you do not pay them anything.
Your solicitor may recommend taking out an After the Event (ATE) insurance policy to cover legal expenses if your claim fails. An ATE policy will cover all your costs and disbursements, including the defendant’s, so you will not be left out of pocket.
To find out if you may be able to claim with a pre-existing condition, call 0800 470 0474 for free legal advice or use our online contact form to request a call back.