My Motorcycle Crash Aggravated a Pre-Existing Injury: Do I Still Have a Claim?
In Maryland, when a person is injured because of the negligence of another person, the injured victim is entitled to make an insurance claim and file a personal injury lawsuit in the civil courts. What is being sought is compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other forms of damages. The purpose of the insurance claim and personal injury lawsuit is to try and make the victim “whole” again as though there was no accident.
This is true even if the accident aggravated a pre-existing medical condition. Let’s assume that you had a shoulder injury that occurred several months before your motorcycle accident. If the more-recent Waldorf, Maryland motorcycle accident made your shoulder injury WORSE, then you have a claim for compensation for the aggravation of your shoulder injury.
Now, it must be admitted that, legally and practically, your Maryland motorcycle accident claim will be more difficult. This is why you need a consultation with experienced Maryland personal injury lawyers if you have suffered injuries in a Waldorf, Maryland, motorcycle accident. Contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Our number is (301) 870-1200.
The reason the case will be more difficult is that the at-fault party (and the lawyers for their insurance carrier) will argue that the accident did not cause the injury — that the injury already existed. However, it is very common for Charles County, MD accidents to aggravate pre-existing injuries, and injured victims are often able to prove that the accident caused additional injury. For the additional injury — the aggravation of that injury — victims are entitled to compensation.
How is this done?
In simple terms, proving that a shoulder injury was aggravated in a motorcycle accident is done through the testimony and reports of medical experts. For example, if you injured your shoulder several months before the accident, your treating physician would provide the medical records from that injury and provide testimony as to the level of healing accomplished up until the date of the recent accident. To provide an oversimplified example, assume that your physician opines that the previous injury reduced your arm/shoulder mobility by 10% but that the recent accident caused injuries severe enough to reduce your mobility by another 40%. In this circumstance, you can claim compensation for the additional reduction in the permanent loss of mobility for that extra 40%.
Alternatively, maybe your physician opines that the previous shoulder injury was completely healed. In that case, you can claim full compensation since the recent motorcycle accident caused a new injury.
Legally, matters are not so simple since the at-fault party and their insurance company will hire different medical experts to provide counter-opinions. Thus, in the end, the jury will have to decide which set of facts is more likely than not to be true.
Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today
This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.
