How Pre-Existing Medical Conditions Affect Your Injury Claim in London

When you are involved in a collision on Wellington Road or suffer a slip and fall, the insurance company will immediately look into your past medical history. Many injury victims in London worry that because they had a previous back injury or arthritis, they are not entitled to a settlement. However, Ontario personal injury law strongly protects victims who were already living with medical conditions.

This guide explains how pre-existing conditions affect your legal claim and how your law firm will protect your rights. 🔍 We will break down essential legal concepts like the “thin skull” rule, how your lawyer gathers evidence to prove the accident made your condition worse, and what steps you must take to ensure the defence cannot unfairly dismiss your pain. Generally, honesty with your doctor is the most important factor in a successful claim.

Step-by-Step Process for Proving Your Claim in London

Whether you receive treatment at the London Health Sciences Centre or a local physiotherapy clinic, documenting how your baseline health changed is critical. Your personal injury lawyer will guide you through this process to prevent the insurance company from blaming your current pain entirely on old injuries.

Step 1: Disclose Everything to Your Lawyer

The biggest mistake you can make is hiding an old injury. 🗂 You must tell your law firm about every past surgery, old car accident, or chronic condition. If the defence lawyer discovers a hidden medical record during the lawsuit, it severely damages your credibility. By knowing your full history upfront, your lawyer can build a strong strategy to protect you.

Step 2: Understanding the “Thin Skull” Rule

In Ontario, the law dictates that a negligent driver “takes their victim as they find them.” This is called the thin skull rule. If a minor fender-bender causes you massive spinal damage because you already had a fragile spine, the at-fault driver is still 100% responsible for all your medical recovery and financial losses. They cannot argue that a “healthy” person would not have been hurt as badly.

Step 3: Differentiating the “Crumbling Skull” Rule

Insurance companies often try to use the “crumbling skull” defence. 🔬 This rule applies if your pre-existing condition was actively worsening before the crash, and you would have inevitably experienced the current pain anyway. If this is proven, the at-fault party only pays to the extent that the accident accelerated or aggravated your decline. Your lawyer’s job is to prove the accident was the main trigger for your current suffering.

Step 4: Gathering Expert Medical Evidence

To win this argument at the Superior Court of Justice, your lawyer will hire independent medical experts. These specialists will review your pre-accident clinical notes from your family doctor and compare them to your post-accident MRI scans. The expert report will clearly explain exactly how the new trauma aggravated your old injuries, shutting down the insurance company’s arguments.

How Much Does it Cost in London?

Proving an aggravation of a pre-existing condition requires heavy investment in medical evidence. 💰 Fortunately, most local personal injury law firms cover these out-of-pocket costs (disbursements) for you while the case is ongoing.

How Long Does the Process Take?

Cases involving pre-existing conditions often take longer to resolve because the medical evidence is more complex. ⏳ It usually takes 1 to 2 years just to reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and fully understand the long-term aggravation. In London, Ontario, you can generally expect the entire lawsuit to take between 2 and 4 years before reaching a final settlement or trial.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Author: lawyerinfo.ca