What If the Crash Aggravated A Pre-Existing Condition?
You can still recover when a crash worsens a condition you already had, because Pennsylvania holds a negligent driver responsible for the harm they caused rather than the health you brought with you. Recovery encompasses the worsening itself, the additional treatment, and the additional limitations. Stine & Associates handles personal injury claims for people whose medical history is being used against them.
The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
The eggshell plaintiff rule holds that a negligent driver takes the injured person as they find them. Someone who rear-ends a driver with a fused spine, prior surgery, or advanced arthritis cannot argue that a healthier person would have walked away fine.
Pennsylvania’s suggested standard civil jury instructions reflect this rule, directing jurors to consider harm caused by a defendant even when a pre-existing condition made the injured person more vulnerable to injury. That standard can become an important factor when insurers evaluate settlement value before trial.
How Do You Prove Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Condition?
Proof rests on a before-and-after picture built from records instead of testimony alone. The strongest files assemble the following documentation:
- Medical records covering the years before the crash
- Imaging taken both before and after the collision
- A treating physician’s opinion comparing the two
- Work attendance and job performance history
- Statements from family about changes in daily function
- A treatment timeline with no unexplained gaps
Pennsylvania allows most personal injury claims to be filed two years from the crash date under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Requesting prior records early keeps the comparison intact while memories and files are still accessible.
Scope of Recovery
Damages get measured against your condition the day before the collision, not against a healthy stranger’s baseline. Compensation covers the worsening itself, not the underlying condition you already live with. Putting a number on that change is what separates a settled claim from a contested one.
Recovery can include the following damages:
- Cost of additional medical treatment
- Surgery that became necessary after the crash
- Lost wages during an extended recovery
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering tied to the worsening
- Loss of activities you could still manage before
The defense may argue that your symptoms existed before the collision rather than resulted from it. Medical records showing your condition before and after the crash can counter that position and give a Westmoreland County jury a clearer picture of what changed.
Bring Your Medical History to Stine & Associates Before the Insurer Frames It
A prior injury is no reason to walk away from a claim, though it does change how the case gets built and documented from day one. Stine & Associates has spent more than 30 years handling Pennsylvania injury claims from an office two minutes from the Greensburg courthouse, offers free consultations, and collects no fees unless and until you receive an award or a verdict.
Call (724) 837-0160 or reach out online to schedule a consultation with our Greensburg personal injury lawyers about your accident claim.