Does a pre-existing condition affect my personal injury claim?

Having a pre-existing condition does not disqualify you from recovering compensation, but it does complicate your claim. Insurance companies will routinely argue that your injuries are attributable to the pre-existing condition rather than the accident. However, the legal doctrine known as the "eggshell plaintiff rule" (or thin skull rule) holds that a defendant must take a plaintiff as they find them — meaning you are entitled to compensation even if your pre-existing condition made you more susceptible to injury than an average person. The key issue is causation: you must show that the accident aggravated, accelerated, or worsened your pre-existing condition, or caused a new injury on top of it. Medical records from before and after the accident are critical in establishing this. An attorney will work with your treating physicians and potentially independent medical experts to clearly separate accident-related harm from pre-existing conditions.