The Insurance Company Says My Injuries Are Pre-Existing — Can I Still Get Compensation?

One of the most common tactics insurance companies use to reduce or deny car accident claims is the “pre-existing condition” argument. If you have a prior back injury, arthritis, degenerative disc disease, anxiety, or any other condition, the insurer will try to blame your current symptoms on that history rather than the accident. Under Nevada law, accident victims with pre-existing conditions still have the right to recover compensation for harm caused or worsened by the accident.

The Eggshell Skull Doctrine

Nevada recognizes the legal principle known as the “eggshell skull rule” (also called the “eggshell plaintiff” doctrine). This rule holds that a defendant must take the plaintiff as they find them. In other words: if you had a pre-existing vulnerability and the accident made it worse, the at-fault driver is responsible for the full extent of your harm — not just what a “healthy” person might have suffered in the same crash.

In practical terms: if your pre-existing spinal condition made you more vulnerable to injury in a rear-end collision, the driver who hit you cannot argue that they should only be responsible for a lesser injury. They are responsible for what actually happened to you.

Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Condition

Even if you cannot prove that the accident created a brand-new injury, you may be entitled to compensation for the aggravation of a prior condition. Common examples include:

• You had a prior back injury that had largely resolved — the accident re-injures the same area and your symptoms return worse than before
• You had asymptomatic degenerative disc disease that the accident made symptomatic and painful
• You had previously treated anxiety or PTSD that the trauma of the crash significantly worsened

In all of these scenarios, you may have a valid claim for the degree to which the accident made your condition worse — even if you can't prove the condition itself is entirely new.

How Insurance Companies Use Your Medical History Against You

When you make a claim, insurance companies routinely request your full medical history. They are specifically looking for:

• Prior treatment to any area of your body that is now injured
• Any condition that could even loosely be connected to your current symptoms
• Gaps or inconsistencies in your treatment timeline

They use this information to argue that your current symptoms are simply a continuation of a prior condition — not the result of the accident. This argument is often made in bad faith, and experienced personal injury attorneys know how to challenge it.

How Cap & Kudler Fights Back

Experienced personal injury attorneys know how to counter the pre-existing condition argument. Here's how we approach these cases:

Medical records and expert testimony: Your treating physicians can provide statements and records documenting that you were functional before the accident and that the crash caused a measurable change in your condition.

Establishing a clear baseline: Records from before the accident showing your functional level — what you could do, how active you were, what treatment you required — help draw a clear line between your pre-accident condition and your post-accident condition.

Working with medical experts: In some cases, an independent medical expert can provide analysis connecting the accident to the aggravation of your prior condition, which carries significant weight in negotiations and at trial.

Negotiating from a position of knowledge: Insurers are more willing to pay fair value when they know the attorney on the other side understands the medicine and the law, and is prepared to take the case to trial if necessary.

The bottom line: having a pre-existing condition does not disqualify you from recovery. It just means you need an attorney who knows how to present your case effectively.

The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different — consult with a qualified Nevada personal injury attorney about your specific situation.

If an insurance company is using your medical history to deny or minimize your car accident claim in Las Vegas or Southern Nevada, call the personal injury lawyers at Cap & Kudler for a free consultation with an attorney.