What Counts as a Pre-Existing Condition?
A pre-existing condition is any injury, illness, or physical limitation you had before the accident. This covers a wide range of health issues:
- Old injuries from previous accidents or falls
- Degenerative disc disease or arthritis in your spine
- Chronic back or neck pain
- Previous surgeries that left lingering symptoms
- Conditions like fibromyalgia or diabetes
- Sports injuries that never fully healed
Insurers will dig through your medical records looking for anything they can use. A herniated disc from five years ago, physical therapy visits from an old workplace injury, even complaints of occasional headaches documented in your chart, all of these can become ammunition in their hands.
The problem isn’t that you had these conditions. The problem is how adjusters twist the facts. They’ll suggest your current symptoms are simply a continuation of old problems, ignoring what the accident actually did to you.
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561-689-8180Florida’s No-Fault System and Serious Injury Threshold
Florida operates under a no-fault insurance system. Your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your initial medical bills and lost wages up to your policy limits, regardless of who caused the crash. You don’t need to prove the other driver was at fault to access these benefits.
But PIP has limits, typically $10,000. And it doesn’t cover pain and suffering. To step outside the no-fault system and file a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, your injuries must meet Florida’s “serious injury threshold.” This means you suffered:
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Death
Here’s where pre-existing conditions complicate matters. If you had chronic back pain before the accident and now claim a permanent spinal injury, the insurance company will argue you haven’t crossed the threshold. They’ll say your condition was already permanent, so the crash didn’t cause it.
This is why documentation becomes so critical. You need medical evidence showing that the accident made things significantly worse or created new problems you didn’t have before.
Related Reading:
Drowsy Driving Accidents in Florida: Why Fatigue Is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving
How Subrogation Affects Your Florida Auto Accident Settlement
Aggravation of Injury: The Legal Principle
Florida law recognizes that accidents can worsen existing conditions. This is called aggravation of injury, and you can recover damages for it. The principle is straightforward: even if you weren’t in perfect health before the crash, the at-fault driver must compensate you for making your situation worse.
Let’s say you had mild arthritis in your knee that caused occasional discomfort. You managed it with over-the-counter pain medication and stayed active. Then a driver runs a red light on Okeechobee Boulevard and T-bones your car. The impact tears your meniscus and inflames the arthritic joint. Now you need surgery, months of physical therapy, and you can’t play tennis anymore.
The other driver’s insurance can’t simply point to your arthritis and walk away. They’re responsible for the tear, the inflammation, the surgery costs, and your reduced quality of life. You’re entitled to compensation for the difference between your condition before and after the accident.
The challenge lies in proving that difference. You need to show what your baseline was and how the crash changed it.
How Insurers Use Your Medical History Against You
Insurance adjusters are trained to find ways to reduce what they pay out. When they see a pre-existing condition in your records, they smell opportunity. Here are the most common tactics:
Blaming Everything on Your History
They’ll argue that every symptom you’re experiencing is just your old problem flaring up again. Even brand-new injuries get attributed to prior conditions if there’s any connection.
Cherry-Picking Medical Records
Adjusters pull specific notes from your past that sound bad while ignoring context. A doctor’s comment about “chronic complaints” from three years ago suddenly becomes proof that your current pain predates the accident.
Surveillance and Social Media
If you had a back injury before, they’re watching to see if you do anything physical after the crash. One photo of you lifting a grocery bag gets presented as evidence that you’re fine, even though you’re in agony the rest of the week.
Delayed Settlement Offers
They know medical bills pile up. They’ll drag out negotiations, waiting for you to get desperate enough to accept a lowball offer just to cover your debts.
Requesting Blanket Medical Authorizations
Adjusters will ask you to sign forms giving them access to your entire medical history. Don’t do this without talking to a lawyer first. They’ll use anything they find, including unrelated mental health visits or treatments from decades ago.
Evidence Needed to Prove Aggravation
Winning a claim when you have a pre-existing condition requires solid documentation. You need to build a clear picture of your health before the accident and demonstrate how things changed after. Here’s what matters:
Medical Records from Before the Crash
Gather records showing the state of your condition before the accident. If you had back pain but were managing it with minimal treatment, those records prove you were functional. If you hadn’t seen a doctor in two years, that shows the problem wasn’t active.
Immediate Post-Accident Treatment Notes
Get medical attention right away after the crash, even if you think your injuries are minor. Emergency room records, urgent care visits, and initial doctor’s appointments create a timeline. Make sure you tell every provider about your symptoms, including anything that feels different from your baseline.
Diagnostic Imaging
X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans show objective changes. If you had an MRI of your spine six months before the accident showing mild degeneration, a new MRI after the crash showing a fresh herniation is powerful evidence.
Expert Medical Testimony
Your treating doctors can explain how the accident aggravated your condition. In many cases, you’ll also need an independent medical expert who can review all the records and provide an opinion that separates the crash-related damage from the pre-existing issues.
Symptom Journal
Start tracking your daily experience. Note your pain levels, activities you can’t do anymore, medications you’re taking, and how your symptoms differ from before the accident. Be specific. Instead of writing “bad day,” write “sharp pain in lower back when bending, 7/10 intensity, lasted all afternoon, couldn’t pick up my daughter.”
Here’s a simple template to use:
- Date and Time
- Activity or Trigger
- Type of Pain/Symptom (sharp, dull, burning, etc.)
- Location in Body
- Intensity (1-10 scale)
- Duration
- Medications Taken
- Impact on Daily Life
Witness Statements
People who knew you before the accident can describe the difference. A coworker who used to see you walk without limping, a family member who remembers you were active and social, a friend who played golf with you every weekend, their observations matter.
Looking for a Peaceful Legal Resolution? Let Us Help You
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Get your FREE & confidential case review todayCommon Pre-Existing Conditions and How Accidents Aggravate Them
Pre-Existing Condition |
How a Car Accident Can Make It Worse |
| Degenerative Disc Disease | The impact can cause new herniations, ruptures, or compression fractures in already weakened discs |
| Arthritis (Spinal or Joint) | Trauma inflames arthritic joints, accelerates deterioration, and can cause new tears in surrounding soft tissue |
| Prior Whiplash | A new collision can re-injure healing neck muscles and ligaments, causing chronic instability |
| Old Fractures | Healed bone may refracture or develop complications like post-traumatic arthritis |
| Fibromyalgia | The stress and physical trauma of a crash often trigger severe flare-ups that last for months |
| Migraine Disorder | Head trauma or whiplash can increase the frequency and intensity of migraines significantly |
| Previous Knee or Shoulder Surgery | Impact forces can tear repaired ligaments, damage scar tissue, or accelerate joint degeneration |
The Eggshell Skull Doctrine
Florida follows a legal principle known as the “eggshell skull” rule, sometimes called the “thin skull” rule. The idea is simple: you take your victim as you find them. If someone has a fragile constitution or pre-existing vulnerability, the person who injures them is still responsible for all the damage they cause, even if a healthier person would have walked away with minor bruises.
This doctrine protects you. If your degenerative disc disease means a moderate rear-end collision causes more damage to your spine than it would to someone else, that’s not your problem. The at-fault driver doesn’t get a discount on damages just because you were more susceptible to injury.
Insurance companies don’t like this rule. They’ll still try to minimize your claim by focusing on your medical history. But the law is on your side. Your attorney can use the eggshell skull doctrine to argue that your pre-existing condition doesn’t reduce what you’re owed; it actually demonstrates why the crash had such a severe impact.
Tips to Strengthen Your Claim and Avoid Mistakes
See a Doctor Immediately
Even if your injuries seem minor or feel similar to old pain, get checked out. Delaying treatment gives insurers ammunition to claim the accident didn’t really hurt you.
Be Honest About Your Medical History
Don’t hide pre-existing conditions from your doctor or lawyer. Adjusters will find them anyway, and dishonesty destroys your credibility. Full disclosure allows your legal team to build the right strategy from the start.
Follow Your Treatment Plan
Skipping appointments or ignoring the doctor’s orders makes it look like you’re not really injured. Insurance companies track your compliance and use gaps in treatment against you.
Keep Copies of Everything
Maintain your own file with medical records, bills, prescription receipts, and correspondence with insurance companies. You want a complete paper trail.
Don’t Give Recorded Statements Without Legal Advice
The other driver’s insurance adjuster will call, sounding friendly and helpful. They’ll ask about your injuries and medical history. What you say can be twisted. Politely decline to discuss details until you’ve spoken with an attorney.
Never Sign Medical Authorizations Without Review
Broad medical release forms give insurers access to your entire health history, including psychiatric records and unrelated treatments. Your lawyer can help you provide only what’s legally required.
Watch What You Post Online
Insurers monitor social media. Photos of you smiling at a family gathering or doing yard work can be taken out of context. Even if you’re putting on a brave face through terrible pain, that picture becomes “proof” you’re not hurt.
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Get Your Free & Confidential Case Review TodayWhen to Consult an Attorney
Insurance companies have entire teams dedicated to minimizing payouts. When you have a pre-existing condition, they see an easy target. You need someone on your side who knows how to counter their tactics.
An experienced personal injury attorney can:
- Review your medical records to identify what actually changed after the accident
- Work with medical experts who can separate new injuries from old conditions
- Handle all communication with insurance adjusters so you don’t accidentally hurt your case
- Calculate the full value of your claim, including future medical costs related to the aggravation
- Fight for fair compensation when insurers try to lowball you
Many firms, including those serving the West Palm Beach area, offer free case evaluations. You can discuss your situation, understand your options, and make an informed decision about how to proceed. There’s no obligation, and you’ll get honest advice about whether you have a strong claim.
Don’t let an insurance company convince you that your pre-existing condition means you deserve nothing. Florida law recognizes that accident victims with prior injuries can still suffer real harm and deserve real compensation. You just need the right evidence and the right representation to prove it.
