A pre-existing medical condition does not prevent you from pursuing a car accident claim. If another driver’s negligence worsens an existing injury or illness, you may recover compensation for the additional harm. The challenge is proving what changed because of the crash rather than what you experienced beforehand.
Denver is Colorado’s capital and the state’s most populous city. It sits at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, where busy urban roads connect residential neighborhoods, commercial districts, and major transport routes. With traffic moving through these areas daily, collisions can leave injured people facing difficult questions about medical treatment and financial recovery.
Understanding how to file a car accident claim in Denver, CO can help you take informed steps after a collision.
What qualifies as a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition is any medical issue that began before the accident. It may include back pain, arthritis, a herniated disc, migraines, depression, anxiety, an old fracture, chronic pain, or a previous traumatic brain injury. Degenerative conditions and injuries requiring earlier surgery may also be relevant.
The condition does not need to cause constant symptoms. Even a dormant injury can matter if the collision makes it painful or limits your ability to work, exercise, or manage everyday activities.
You can seek compensation for worsening symptoms.
Under Colorado’s civil jury instructions on aggravation, an injured person may recover damages when the evidence establishes an existing condition, the defendant’s negligence, and a worsening caused by that negligence.
Consider someone who occasionally experienced lower-back pain before being rear-ended. If the collision causes a herniated disc, persistent nerve pain, or additional treatment needs, compensation may cover the new injury and worsening symptoms. The earlier back pain does not automatically erase responsibility for the additional harm.
The eggshell plaintiff principle
Colorado also recognizes the “eggshell plaintiff” principle: a negligent driver must take an injured person as they find them. Someone with osteoporosis, a previous spinal injury, or another physical vulnerability may suffer more serious consequences than a healthier person in the same collision.
A defendant cannot avoid responsibility simply because the injured person was unusually susceptible to harm. The important issue remains whether the crash caused the injury or aggravated the existing condition.
Why insurers question medical history
Insurance companies may argue that symptoms existed before the accident, resulted from natural degeneration, or arose from a later incident. They may also question whether treatment was necessary, particularly when medical records show similar earlier complaints or a lengthy gap in care.
These arguments do not automatically defeat a claim. However, you need credible evidence showing how your condition changed.
What affects your compensation?
A pre-existing condition can make a claim more complicated, but its effect depends on the evidence. A crash that substantially worsens a serious condition may increase treatment needs and future-care costs. Conversely, similar symptoms before and after the collision can make causation harder to establish.
Your own responsibility for causing the accident is a separate issue. Under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-111, compensation may be reduced in proportion to your share of fault when your negligence contributed to the collision and your fault is not as great as the defendant’s.
Key Takeaways
- A pre-existing condition does not automatically prevent compensation.
- You may recover damages for injuries or symptoms worsened by a collision.
- Colorado’s eggshell plaintiff principle protects people who are more vulnerable to injuries than others.
- Insurers may challenge your claim by arguing that symptoms existed before the accident.
- Keep records of medical treatment, expenses, missed work, and changes in your daily activities.
- Under Colorado’s comparative negligence law, your compensation may be reduced if you share responsibility for the accident.