
How Prior Injuries Affect Your Current Personal Injury Claim
You have a right to fair compensation for your injuries. Whether they’re an aggravation of previous injuries or new and separate. This applies to car accidents, slip, and falls, work accidents, dog bites, and other injury events. While getting fair compensation for your injuries can be a challenge, with the right evidence, you can overcome it. To succeed you will need proof of the at fault party’s liability and proof of your damages. However, if you are not able to prove liability, you have no claim regardless of the extent of your injuries. Although state laws vary in the specific elements needed to establish liability, the general requirements have four main components which are duty, breach, causation, and damages. First, the at fault party owed you a duty of care. Next, the at fault party breached that duty of care by acting negligently. Third, their actions were the actual and proximate cause of your injuries. If you can prove liability, you need to have strong evidence of your damages. Fortunately, there are several reliable ways of producing credible evidence of damages. For example, you can include photographs, witness statements, police or incident reports, and medical records.
Pre-existing Injuries The best proof of injuries are medical records. It is important to show that you sustained new injuries as opposed to just having preexisting injuries that were aggravated by your new injury. You will need your doctor’s help to prove that your injuries are new or an aggravation of a preexisting condition. This is done when your doctor provides a written narrative with your diagnosis or prognosis. It can go a long way and help improve the value of your personal injury claim. When obtaining your diagnosis and prognosis, make sure you tell the doctor what you’re trying to prove. That way, they can focus their written narrative on the details of your new injury. It’s difficult for an insurance adjuster to overcome a doctor’s professional medical opinion. By relying on Xray’s, MRI’s, cat scans and other diagnostic tests, your doctor can pinpoint why and when the new injury occurred.
Call our Experienced Accident Lawyer in Miami Today
Injuries can occur at any time. We have little control over when accidents happen and how serious they are. Many times, a new injury can overlap a prior injury. If you file an insurance claim for new injuries, you’re better off disclosing your preexisting injuries at the start of your claim. There’s nothing more destructive to your claim than getting blindsided and asked why you conveniently failed to tell the adjuster about your prior injuries. If that happens, your credibility is all but gone and your claim along with it. At Suarez and Montero Car Accident Attorneys, our clients know they can trust our team of highly experienced and well-informed car accident attorneys to deliver the type of aggressive legal representation needed to take on insurance companies. If you’ve been in any type of vehicular accident, let our motor vehicle accident lawyers review your claim! Our skilled Miami car accident attorneys will work around the clock to hold the appropriate parties responsible for your injuries. We will fight to make sure that you get the maximum amount of compensation owed to you. Let us review your case and discuss your legal options. Our attorneys are ready to provide proven legal representation in pursuing your claim and stand ready to protect your rights. We are available 24/7 to give you a free, no risk case consultation. We serve clients throughout Florida including those in the following areas:
Miami-Dade: Aventura, Coral Gables, Doral, Fontainebleau, Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Lakes, North Miami, Tamiami, and Westchester.
Broward: Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Weston; and Palm Beach County including Boca Raton, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach.