False Assumption - 4. I had prior injuries

Posted Saturday, July 21, 2007 by Ed Harper

I had prior injuries, but the insurance company will believe the injuries have no bearing on this claim. Pre-existing injuries to the same area of the body are likely to become an issue in almost every personal injury claim. If the prior injury was to the neck, and the new injury is also in the neck region, you can be sure the bodily injury adjuster will attempt to blame the present injury on the old condition.

What you can do when suffering from a personal injury is to obtain your prior medical records before the insurance adjuster is allowed to review these records. Knowing whether your doctor and/or health care provider discharged you previously is important information to know before you sign an authorization allowing an insurance company representative open access to your health care records.

At Harper Law PLLC, we allow first party adjusters to have medical authorizations for medical records pertinent to the present claim. A third party adjuster should *never * be given an authorization. We provide the third party adjuster with the medical records and bills after we have a chance to review and fully examine them.

Pre-existing conditions will surely be a topic of discussion, whether in negotiations or trial. However, if your condition has existed without appreciable symptoms for an extended period of time, a judge may prevent the other side from arguing that this is the same injury. The old injury may even be excluded from the purview of the jury if you were not having symptoms at the time of the new accident.

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