The Case
A person was rear-ended by a commercial vehicle. The plaintiff had preexisting degenerative disc disease—a condition in which the discs between vertebrae break down over time, causing pain and reduced function.
The collision made the preexisting condition symptomatic. Before the crash, the plaintiff was managing the degenerative changes without significant problems. After the crash, the condition became painful and limiting enough to require surgery.
Degenerative disc disease is common, particularly as people age. Many people have disc degeneration visible on imaging but experience no symptoms. A traumatic event like a car crash can turn an asymptomatic condition into a painful, disabling one.
The plaintiff underwent surgery and made a near-full recovery. The plaintiff pursued a personal injury claim based on the commercial vehicle driver’s negligence in causing the rear-end collision.
The Resolution
The case settled for $750,000 shortly before trial. The settlement reflected the medical evidence connecting the crash to the need for surgery, the successful recovery, and the defendant’s clear fault in rear-ending the plaintiff.
Why These Cases Matter
You do not have to be in perfect health to recover compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. The law recognizes that defendants must take plaintiffs as they find them—including any preexisting conditions or vulnerabilities.
The key question in these cases is whether the crash caused new harm or made an existing condition worse to the point that treatment became necessary. Medical records showing the plaintiff’s condition before and after the crash, along with expert testimony, can establish this connection.
Preexisting degenerative disc disease is one of the most common complications in injury cases. Insurance companies and defense attorneys will always argue that surgery was inevitable due to the degeneration. Overcoming this defense requires clear medical evidence and often expert testimony showing that the crash accelerated the degeneration or caused new trauma that required surgical intervention.
Near-full recovery is a positive outcome, but it does not erase the need for surgery, the recovery period, the pain endured, or the risk undertaken in having spinal surgery. Compensation accounts for all of these factors.
If you were injured in a crash and the insurance company is arguing that your preexisting condition is responsible for your need for treatment, contact us to discuss your case. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis—there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.