How Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Injury Claims in Tempe

After a car crash, your injuries don’t happen in a vacuum. Maybe you’ve had back pain for years. Maybe an old sports injury never fully healed. If you’re injured in a Tempe car accident and already have a pre-existing medical condition, that doesn’t disqualify your claim — but it does complicate it.

Insurance companies often try to use pre-existing conditions against you. Their goal is to say, “You were already hurt,” and avoid paying for what’s actually new or worsened harm caused by the crash. But Arizona law offers protections to injured people — even those with a history of medical issues — when someone else’s negligence makes things worse.

If you’re dealing with this situation, a Tempe car accident attorney can help you fight back against insurance tactics and prove what the crash truly changed in your life.

What Counts as a Pre-Existing Condition?

A pre-existing condition is any health issue you had before the crash. It can be obvious and documented — like degenerative disc disease, arthritis, or a previous concussion — or something you never needed treatment for but knew existed.

Common examples include:

• Chronic neck or back pain

• Old fractures or joint injuries

• Past whiplash from a previous crash

• Migraines or head trauma

• Diagnosed spinal conditions

• Mental health issues such as anxiety or PTSD

For many Tempe residents, especially those working physical jobs or commuting through busy areas like Downtown Tempe or North Tempe, these conditions may have been under control — until the crash brought them roaring back.

The “Eggshell Plaintiff” Rule in Arizona

Arizona law follows the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, which means a negligent driver must take the victim “as they are.” In other words, if your body is more vulnerable due to a prior condition, and the crash makes it worse, the at-fault driver is still fully responsible for those consequences.

Let’s say you had mild scoliosis or a slipped disc that didn’t affect your daily life. If a Tempe crash causes that condition to flare up, require surgery, or result in chronic pain, you’re entitled to compensation for that worsening — even if someone else wouldn’t have been hurt as badly in the same crash.

This applies whether your crash involved a rear-end collision, rollover accident, or a T-bone crash. It’s not about who was more “breakable” — it’s about whether the crash made things worse.

How Insurance Companies Use Pre-Existing Conditions Against You

Insurance adjusters will often dig deep into your medical history, looking for anything they can label as “prior.” Their goal is to argue that:

• Your pain existed before the crash

• Your current treatment was inevitable anyway

• The crash didn’t materially worsen your condition

• You’re exaggerating symptoms that were already there

This is especially common in cases involving soft tissue injuries, neck pain, or traumatic brain injuries, which don’t always show up clearly on imaging tests.

But a smart legal approach — backed by strong medical records — can demonstrate what actually changed after the accident. Maybe your pain levels increased dramatically, or you needed a type of care you never required before. That change matters.

Medical Records Matter More Than Ever

When you have a pre-existing condition, your before-and-after medical documentation becomes critical. You’ll need to show what your life looked like before the crash — and how it changed because of it.

Your lawyer will often work with doctors to establish:

• Your prior baseline (mobility, pain levels, function)

• The nature and severity of your post-crash symptoms

• Diagnostic imaging comparisons (e.g., MRIs)

• New treatments or prescriptions initiated after the accident

• How your work or daily life is now affected

This is particularly important if your injuries now prevent you from working or require ongoing care. Loss of earning capacity is a legitimate damage — even if you had medical issues before the crash.

Should You Tell the Insurance Company About Your Condition?

Yes — but only with guidance from your lawyer. Hiding a prior injury can hurt your credibility. If the insurer finds out through medical records (which they almost always will), they’ll argue you’re dishonest.

But disclosing your condition with context — and with medical support explaining how the crash worsened it — is the better path. The goal is transparency, not surrender. A good attorney will help you explain your medical history truthfully while still pushing back against any attempt to minimize your claim.

When Pre-Existing Conditions Actually Help Your Case

In some cases, a well-documented pre-existing condition can strengthen your case. Why? Because it shows how stable things were before the crash — and how drastically things deteriorated afterward.

Let’s say you had knee pain years ago but hadn’t needed treatment in two years. Then a Tempe crash forces you back into physical therapy and surgery. That timeline can actually show that the crash was the tipping point — not a continuation of the past.

And if your injury results in a new permanent condition, such as paralysis, the contrast between your pre-crash independence and post-crash limitations can highlight the seriousness of the crash’s impact.

Final Thought

Having a pre-existing condition doesn’t disqualify you from a fair settlement — it just means your case requires more care, more documentation, and a lawyer who understands how to separate past pain from new harm.

Insurance companies love to treat pre-existing injuries as an excuse to deny or reduce claims. But Arizona law doesn’t let them off the hook for causing real, measurable harm — even if you were vulnerable to begin with.

If a Tempe crash made an old injury worse or turned a manageable condition into a life-changing problem, you have every right to pursue compensation. Don’t let them rewrite your medical history — make sure the story is told the right way.