A pre-existing health issue is any condition that you have been living with prior to the accident taking place. For example an existing injury that you may have sustained from a previous accident or a clinical diagnosis.

In some cases a pre-existing health issue may have been exacerbated due to the injuries that you have sustained in the accident. For example if you had a pre-existing back injury from a prior car accident, and then have a fall at work, this could make your back injury worse.

A pre-existing medical condition will not affect you making a claim. If your existing condition is made worse following your accident you could be eligible to claim for any additional pain and suffering.

It is important to be truthful about your medical history when making a personal injury claim. This will help your case handler to prove what injuries were caused as a direct result of the accident, and which pre-existing conditions were made worse due to the accident.

If you are not honest about existing medical conditions this may jeopardise the success of your claim and may even result in your claim being thrown out of court.

If the injuries that you sustained in the accident only impacted your existing health condition, the defendant will still be liable for the injury caused. This is down to what is known as the ‘eggshell skull’ rule. This means that the defendant has to take their victim as they find them, even if this means that the injured party’s existing health condition has exacerbated their injuries.