Our law firm was recently contacted by a passenger who was sitting in an idling car at a red traffic light when her vehicle was abruptly hit from behind by another motorist. The two drivers emerged from this accident unscathed, but our client sustained physical injuries and the accident exacerbated her preexisting medical conditions. Our client had multiple health issues at the time of this collision and each was affected. Unfortunately, when our client approached the at-fault driver’s insurance provider to have her accident-related medical expenses reimbursed, she was refused. It was upon learning this that she contacted our law firm; she knew that she needed the help of competent and experienced Oregon auto accident injury lawyers.
The at-fault driver’s insurance provider gave a two-pronged explanation of why it would not pay for our client’s post-accident care. First, it argued that the collision could not be the direct cause of our client’s injuries because damage to the vehicles involved was inexpensive and relatively minor. According to this provider, if the cars were not badly injured in this accident then our client could not have been either. The provider’s second argument was that our client’s injuries were preexisting conditions that fell outside of the insurance provider’s coverage.
Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC has years of experience with car accident injury claims in the state of Oregon. When contacted by this new client, we identified the weaknesses in the insurance company’s position. The extent of damage to vehicles involved in a collision has no direct or measurable correlation to the extent of the damage sustained by human beings within the vehicles that collide. Our client had an increased risk of getting hurt in any collision, regardless of the magnitude of impact or the extent of damage to cars, because of her preexisting health issues. However, even though our client did indeed have preexisting health issues, it would be wrong to confuse her post-accident injuries with her preexisting issues. Our client was injured in this accident above and beyond her preexisting pain. The injuries she sustained in this rear-end collision were legitimate and serious.
Our client’s medical records and history made it amply clear that the auto accident aggravated her preexisting conditions and increased the pain and suffering that she experienced. We presented these medical records to the insurance provider as well testimonies from our client’s doctors. These medical experts confirmed that the accident should be considered the direct cause of our client’s post-collision pain and that it had negatively impacted her preexisting conditions. Armed with this evidence in support of our case, and after several rounds of negotiation, we were able to get a favorable and fair settlement offer for our client. Her injuries were not simply preexisting conditions and they were caused by the reckless driver who hit the vehicle in which our client was riding.