Pre-Existing Conditions and Car Accident Claims in Kentucky
A pre-existing condition does not bar your Kentucky car accident claim. If the crash made an existing condition worse, the at-fault driver owes you for every bit of that worsening.
A pre-existing condition does not disqualify your car accident claim in Kentucky. Under the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, the at-fault driver must take you as they find you — fully responsible for the worsening of any condition the crash aggravated. Kentucky’s pure comparative fault statute (KRS 411.182) may reduce your damages only if you were partially at fault for the collision, never because of a pre-existing condition. Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers handles these claims every day. Call (502) 888-8888 for a no-cost case review.
What Is the Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine?
The eggshell plaintiff doctrine is a legal principle applied in every Kentucky personal injury case. The person who caused the crash is responsible for the full extent of your injuries — even if those injuries are worse than what a perfectly healthy person would have experienced. The name comes from a simple concept: if you had a skull as thin as an eggshell and a minor impact killed you, the person who caused that impact is fully responsible.
Kentucky operates under pure comparative fault established by KRS 411.182. Your damages may be reduced by your percentage of fault in causing the accident, but they are never reduced because you had a pre-existing condition. The Kentucky Supreme Court adopted pure comparative negligence in Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984). A defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them.
Degenerative Spinal Changes Are Nearly Universal in Adults
Based on MRI findings in people with zero symptoms
Source: Brinjikji W, et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015;36(4):811-816
Three Common Scenarios in Kentucky Crash Claims
This is the most common scenario. You have degenerative disc disease on MRI, but you had zero symptoms before the crash — no pain, no treatment, no limitations. The crash changed that. Now you have constant pain, numbness in your arm or leg, and you are facing injections or surgery. The insurance company will point to your MRI and say it was already there. Kentucky law says: if it was not causing problems before the crash, the crash caused the problem.
You had occasional back pain before the crash. You managed it with over-the-counter medication and did not miss work. After the crash, the pain became constant and disabling. You cannot sit through a full shift. You cannot pick up your children without sharp pain radiating down your leg. The insurance adjuster will argue you already had back problems. Kentucky law says: the crash caused the worsening, and the at-fault driver owes you for every bit of that worsening.
You had a prior shoulder surgery that healed well. Years later, a car accident tears the repaired tissue. The insurance company will call it a re-injury and argue the prior surgery weakened you. Under the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, that does not matter. A prior surgery does not give someone permission to cause you harm, and it does not reduce what you are owed when they do.
Why “Pre-Existing” Shows Up on Almost Every MRI
Insurance companies treat the phrase “pre-existing degenerative changes” like it means your injury is not real. But here is what the medical research actually shows.
A landmark systematic review published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology analyzed 33 studies covering 3,110 people with zero back pain or symptoms. The findings were striking:
| Age | Disc Degeneration | Disc Bulge | Disc Protrusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | ~60% | ~54% | ~33% |
| 50 | ~71% | ~62% | ~36% |
| 60 | ~80% | ~69% | ~38% |
| 80 | 96% | 84% | 43% |
Brinjikji W, et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015;36(4):811-816
More than half of all 40-year-olds have disc degeneration on MRI and do not even know it. By age 60, the rate is 80%. These are people with no pain and no symptoms. Degenerative changes are a normal part of aging, not a reason to reduce your claim. When an adjuster points to your MRI and says the problems were already there, they are counting on you not knowing this data. We know it, and we use it.
How Insurance Companies Use Pre-Existing Conditions Against You
Insurance adjusters are trained to find pre-existing conditions and use them to lower your claim value. Here is how they do it.
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Medical record fishing expeditions
The adjuster asks you to sign a broad medical authorization covering your entire history. They dig through years of records looking for any mention of pain in the same body part. A single note about occasional neck stiffness from five years ago becomes their argument that your cervical spine injury was already there before the crash.
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Independent medical examinations (IMEs)
The insurance company sends you to a doctor they selected and paid for under Kentucky Civil Rule 35.01. The examining doctor conducts a brief examination and writes a report that frequently attributes your symptoms to pre-existing conditions rather than the crash.
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Cherry-picking prior records
You mentioned lower back pain during a physical in 2019. You saw a chiropractor twice in 2020. The adjuster uses those entries to argue your lumbar spine injury from a 2025 crash is just your old problem resurfacing — ignoring years of no treatment and full-time work without restrictions.
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Lowball offers
The end goal is always the same: pay you less. The adjuster builds a file showing pre-existing findings and uses it to justify a fraction of what your claim is worth. They hope you believe your pre-existing condition makes your case weaker. It does not.
How We Defeat the Pre-Existing Condition Defense
At Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, pre-existing condition claims are something we see constantly — cervical disc herniations, degenerative disc disease, prior shoulder surgeries, arthritis, prior hip replacements. We know exactly how insurance companies use them, and we know how to dismantle those arguments.
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Building a before-and-after medical timeline
We gather your records from years before the crash and document your baseline: treatment frequency, pain levels, functional capacity, work history. Then we compare that to your condition after the crash. When the records show no treatment for three years and now you are facing surgery, the insurance argument collapses.
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Treating physician testimony
Your treating physician knows your history better than any insurance-hired doctor who spent 20 minutes with you. We work with your doctors to document exactly what changed after the crash and what treatment you now need that you did not need before.
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Advanced imaging evidence
Comparing pre-accident and post-accident MRI and CT imaging is one of the most effective ways to prove crash-related aggravation. If a 2022 MRI shows mild disc degeneration and a 2025 post-crash MRI shows a new herniation at the same level, that comparison tells the story.
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Countering IME reports
When an insurance-hired doctor attributes everything to your pre-existing condition, we challenge their methods, their history of working for insurers, and the medical evidence they ignored. A doctor who spends 15 minutes with a patient and overrides years of treating physician records has a credibility problem.
What a Pre-Existing Condition Claim Feels Like
Maybe your back was not perfect before the crash. Maybe your shoulder had a dull ache on rainy days. But you were working full shifts at the warehouse. You were picking up your kids after school. You were sleeping through the night without waking up in pain.
Then someone ran a red light. Now you cannot sit at your desk for 30 minutes without standing. You are missing your daughter’s softball games because the bleachers are impossible. Your spouse is doing everything around the house that you used to split 50-50. And the insurance company says your back was already bad, so they are only going to pay a fraction of what your claim is worth. That is not how the law works in Kentucky.
What Kentucky Juries Actually Award in Aggravation Cases
The Kentucky Trial Court Review tracks 28 years of jury verdict data across Kentucky. In cases where insurance companies argued pre-existing conditions, jury awards have consistently exceeded what insurers offered in settlement. We use this data when building your demand to make sure the number reflects what a Kentucky jury would actually award — not what an insurance algorithm says you deserve.
What to Do If You Have a Pre-Existing Condition After a Car Accident
Having a pre-existing condition does not hurt your case if you handle it correctly from the start. Here is what matters most:
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Be honest with your doctors
Tell them about prior injuries, surgeries, or conditions in the same body part. They need the full picture to treat you properly and document accurately. Your honesty creates the baseline that proves the crash caused the worsening.
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Do not sign a broad medical records release
The insurance company is entitled to records related to the body parts injured in the crash — not your entire history going back 20 years. Do not sign anything broad without talking to an attorney first.
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Do not hide your prior history
We can work with a documented pre-existing condition. We cannot recover from a credibility problem if the insurance company discovers undisclosed records. Full transparency is the foundation of a strong claim.
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Call before you give a recorded statement
The adjuster will ask about your medical history. Every word you say can be used to build the pre-existing defense. Talk to us first before speaking with the insurance company about anything.
Kentucky’s eggshell plaintiff doctrine is on your side. The at-fault driver does not get to pick a healthier version of you to injure. They caused harm to the person you actually are — and they owe you for what they actually did.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a car accident claim if I had a pre-existing condition?
Yes. Under Kentucky’s eggshell plaintiff doctrine, the at-fault driver is responsible for the full extent of your injuries, even if a pre-existing condition made them worse. A pre-existing condition does not prevent you from recovering compensation under KRS 411.182.
What does “eggshell plaintiff” mean in Kentucky?
The eggshell plaintiff doctrine requires a defendant to take the plaintiff as they find them. If you had a condition that made you more vulnerable, the at-fault driver is still fully liable for the harm caused. Kentucky applies this alongside pure comparative fault under KRS 411.182.
Will the insurance company find out about my pre-existing condition?
Insurance adjusters routinely request medical records going back years. They may also send you to an independent medical examination. Being upfront about your history is important. A documented condition that was stable before the crash actually strengthens your aggravation claim.
What is the difference between aggravation of a pre-existing condition and a new injury?
Aggravation means the crash made an existing condition worse. A new injury means the crash caused damage that did not exist before. Both are fully compensable under Kentucky law. The key is medical documentation showing the change in your condition before and after the accident.
How common is degenerative disc disease in people without back pain?
According to a systematic review in the AJNR, approximately 60% of asymptomatic 40-year-olds and 80% of asymptomatic 60-year-olds have disc degeneration on MRI. By age 80, the rate is 96%. These are people with zero back pain.
What is an independent medical examination (IME)?
An IME is a medical examination requested by the insurance company under Kentucky Civil Rule 35.01. The doctor is selected and paid by the insurer, and the report often favors the insurance company’s position on causation and pre-existing conditions. Do not attend one without first speaking with an attorney.
Should I tell my doctor about prior injuries before the crash?
Yes. Always be honest with your treating physicians. Concealing prior injuries damages your credibility and your case. Your doctor needs the full picture to treat you properly and document whether the crash caused a new injury or aggravated a pre-existing one.
Can the insurance company reduce my settlement because of degenerative disc disease on my MRI?
They will try. But under Kentucky’s eggshell plaintiff doctrine, degenerative changes on your MRI do not reduce what you are owed. Research shows these changes are present in the majority of adults over 40 with no symptoms. If the crash made your condition symptomatic or worse, you are entitled to full compensation.