Insurance companies will often attempt to avoid liability for personal injuries resulting from automobile accidents and slip and falls by claiming that the injuries preexisted the traumatic event. However, these preexisting injuries may actually help your case instead of hurt it. According to Florida law, the aggravation or exacerbation of a preexisting condition is compensable by the individual or entity that caused the car crash or fall. The Florida Standard Jury Instructions provide as follows:
“If you find that the defendant caused a bodily injury and that the injury resulted in an aggravation of an existing disease or physical defect or activation of a latent disease or physical defect, you should attempt to decide what portion of claimant’s condition resulted from the aggravation or activation. If you can make that determination, then you should award only those damages resulting from the aggravation or activation. However, if you cannot make that determination, or if it cannot be said that the condition would have existed apart from the injury, then you should award damages for the entire condition suffered by the claimant.”
If you are injured in a Florida car accident, a premise liability incident or in any other traumatic incident caused by the negligence of another, don’t let the fear of a preexisting condition preclude you from seeking legal recourse.
For more information feel free to call Michael J. Cohen, Esq. at the Cohen Legal Group. Our phone number is (954) 617-6500
. Or you can look us up on the web at 209.213.104.164/~accident.