What role does a "pre-existing condition" play in a personal injury case?

If you are injured in a car accident and have a pre-existing condition, is your recovery limited? A lot of people get confused about "pre-existing" conditions in personal injury cases. As far as I can tell, this phrase really comes from health insurance, where a health insurer may not want to cover the injury you are already suffering from. So in that setting, it is a really bad thing.

But in the personal injury context, it is different. A defendant does not get a "discount" because you were injured already. A defendant in a personal injury matter is responsible for how much worse he or she made your injuries.

An example may help: if you had a broken leg already and then were hit by a car while trying to walk across the street (in a crosswalk!), requiring surgery. The person who just hit you is not responsible for the broken leg, but is responsible for the further complications caused by the accident. So a person without an already-broken leg might not need surgery after this accident - but you did, because you were already compromised when they hit you! The defendant is liable for the surgery - they do not get a discount!

This is the classic "eggshell" plaintiff case.

Pete Clancy is a personal injury lawyer in Oakland.