Understanding The Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine


If you are pursuing a car accident case, you should know that the insurance company will only pay you for the injuries sustained in the accident, but not your preexisting injuries. The only exception to this rule is if the accident has worsened your preexisting medical conditions. Therefore, a headache that has been worsened by a whiplash will be compensated, but a skin rash that hasn't been affected in any way by the accident won't play a part in the compensation scheme.

An Example

Consider an example where you have a simple leg fracture. If another motorist rear ends your car, the simple fracture can worsen into a compound structure, and the latter is definitely more expensive and time-consuming to treat. In this case, the insurance company can't argue their way out of the compensation by claiming that you were only hurt because you had a preexisting condition. They must compensate you as long as you can prove that you were really hurt in the crash. This is known as the eggshell plaintiff doctrine.

What It Means

The eggshell plaintiff doctrine means that in an injury case, the liable party must treat the plaintiff as they were at the time of the accident, and not as an average person and not as the defendant wishes the plaintiff was.

Therefore, even if you sustain major injuries in a relatively minor car accident, the defendant cannot claim that an average person wouldn't have hurt themselves that much in a simple fender bender. The question isn't what an average person would have suffered, but rather the injuries you actually sustained in the crash.

Things to Note

Even though the insurance company will still settle your claim even if you had preexisting injuries, it won't pay you for all the damages if you had a hand in your injuries. In such a case, your compensation will be reduced proportionally to your contribution to the accident. For example, if you were also intoxicated at the time of the crash, and your intoxication contributed to the accident, don't expect the eggshell doctrine to apply just because your existing injuries have been worsened.

As you can see, the eggshell rule is an excellent protection for fragile injury victims who would otherwise not get the compensation they deserve after an accident. therefore, if you have been severely hurt in a fender bender, don't shy away from filing a claim because an average person would have walked away with minor scratches. For more info, talk to a professional like Blomberg Benson & Garrett.

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