Preexisting Injuries: How to Win Compensation for Injuries That You Had Before Your Accident

By Atticus Wegman

At Aitken Aitken Cohn, we work hard to ensure that our clients are fully compensated for their injuries, including injuries that were aggravated in an accident. From time to time, our clients will tell us that they are not sure if their injuries are related to the accident because they had symptoms in the same area before the crash.

Deeper questioning often reveals that the symptoms the client was having before the accident resolved and had gone away. However, due to the impact in the accident, their previously asymptomatic injuries were aggravated and became symptomatic again.

Here, at Aitken Aitken Cohn, we handle these cases by paying attention to detail and consulting with the best doctors to ensure we can prove that the accident was the cause behind the reappearance of the client’s symptoms. Doing so, allows us to achieve maximum value for our clients.

California law allows for an individual to receive compensation even if they had preexisting injuries as long as the individual can prove the injuries were aggravated by the accident. It is also important to keep in mind that an individual’s preexisting symptoms do not need to resolve completely prior to the accident to receive compensation.

For example, if a client was having a dull pain in their low back prior to a fall on a dangerous and improperly maintained sidewalk, but developed regular sharp pains afterward, the client could still be entitled to compensation. Simply put, defendants do not get a free pass just because an individual suffered from preexisting injuries.