If I have suffered from prior injuries do I a still have a claim in injuries in my recent accident?

 

A: Absolutely.

Anytime you're involved in an accident, where it is not your fault, you are entitled to the damages for any aggravation of your pre-existing condition. It takes a very careful analysis of your medical records to succeed in such cases. Many times you even have a hard time describing the difference between your symptoms. However, an Orange County personal injury attorney can carefully examine the records to determine the difference and changes in objective findings by doctors, and your subjective complaints over a course of time. By doing this careful examination, the attorney can be your advisor on how to respond to questions about your prior condition and also the changes experienced by you after an accident.

In fact, one of the specialties of our office has been a successful negotiation of cases involving very significant pre-existing history. Many attorneys turned down these cases simply because they are lazy or don't want to do the work. It is not easy, but it must be done. The medical records for all of your health care providers have to be obtained and reviewed. Detailed notes of the content of those records have to be developed and compared. Eventually, a pattern emerges describing and giving a picture of your previous condition, and comparing it to your new condition.

Don't expect your doctors to be able to do this. Not only do they lack the time to carefully go through medical records,  they also do not know what to look for.

Don't think that you can simply testify to your recollection and expect to recover for your accident injuries. The insurance company will hire medical doctors to review your records and find consistencies that support their argument that you were not injured or not significantly injured in your most recent accident. Therefore it is very important for you to contact a California personal injury attorney early if you have a significant pre-existing history, before you give medical records and/or statements to your insurance company or anyone else.

Our office will obtain a medical records for you, and review them at no cost to you. We will advise you of your pre-existing history, and how you should respond to questions about the changes in your symptoms after an accident.  Call us at 1 866-981-5596 or contact us.

Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie takes cases in Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Kern County, Ventura County and in the cities of Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda, Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Big Pines, Burbank, Carson, Century City, Cerritos, Chatsworth, China Town, City of Industry, Claremont, Commerce, Compton, Covina, Culver City, Downtown LA, Downey, Eagle Rock, El Monte, El Segundo, Encino, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Granada Hills, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Highland Park, Hollywood, Inglewood, Irwindale, Japan Town, Korea Town, La Canada/Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Habra, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lenox, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Nietos, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Monterey Park, Montrose, Northridge, Norwalk, Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Rolling Hills Estates, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Signal Hill, South Pasadena, Temple City, Torrance, Valinda, Van Nuys, Ventura County, Verdugo City, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, Westwood and Whittier.