man with old back injury after car accident

Aggravating an Old Injury in a Car Accident

No matter what type of car accident you find yourself involved in, it can be very frightening – not to mention extremely inconvenient. But what can make the experience even less opportune is when you find yourself aggravating a prior injury that you’ve worked to improve. Whether you are recovering from a small surgery that had started to heal or have worked hard to get back to yourself after a previous accident, re-injuring part of your body is frustrating.

Imagine that you have suffered from serious back pain after giving birth to your daughter 8 years ago. Then you find yourself in a car accident in which you have been rear-ended. Now your back pain is worse than ever before. Now you are going to require surgery and physical therapy to help decrease the pain and increase your quality of life. Why should you be left to pay for these medical costs? The answer is you shouldn’t.

Insurance Companies Have Conflicting Interests

When you have been injured in a car accident you will probably file a claim with your insurance company so that they can cover your medical bills and lost wages while you recover. Unfortunately though, insurance companies often try to get out of paying for injury costs in which the injury is related to a pre-existing condition. 

Insurance companies are just that – companies. To stay in business they must be able to make money. Therefore paying you for your injury – or paying you enough for your injury – is not conducive to their prosperity. Insurance companies will often claim that your injury was not a result of the crash since it was present beforehand. However, under Michigan state law, insurance companies may still be liable for accident-related expenses even if these injuries are related to a pre-existing condition. As long as it can be shown that the accident aggravated/exacerbated your pre-existing injury, your accident-related injuries are still compensable.

Benefits to Hiring a Car Accident Attorney

While nothing prevents you from bringing a claim on your own, you will have a much better chance of receiving optimal compensation when represented by a personal injury attorney. He or she can help to:

  • Collect evidence to demonstrate how your injury has been made worse by your accident
  • Demonstrate that you are following all medical treatments from your treating physician 
  • Look over any settlement offers provided to you by your insurance company (insurance companies will often try to pay you less than what you deserve)

Whether your injury is brand new or you have aggravated an old injury, you deserve to be compensated for your losses. You should not be made to pay the price for someone else’s mistakes.

The Attorneys at Miller & Tischler, P.C. Can Help

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, you should not have to be bear the burden alone. When you are already dealing with so much, the last thing that you want to do is to have to worry about tackling the legalities of your situation.

The Michigan personal injury attorneys at Miller & Tischler, P.C. will fight for the compensation that you deserve. We understand the seriousness of your injury and the physical, emotional, and financial hardships that you have endured (and will continue to endure). We will gather the necessary evidence and build a case to help you receive the best outcome. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, contact us today!