Your prior injury history helps establish the starting point
Your prior injury history gives your lawyer and medical experts a starting point for understanding what changed after an accident. An earlier condition does not automatically eliminate a claim. It may make a careful comparison especially important.
A complete medical history helps us show what the accident changed and pursue the harm supported by the evidence. I would want to know how you were functioning before the incident, what treatment you had received and what became different afterward.
That conversation should be practical and respectful. You should not feel that having been injured before makes you responsible for someone else's conduct now. The task is to understand the history accurately and determine which consequences can be attributed to the current event.
An aggravation can be a meaningful injury
New Jersey law recognizes that an accident can worsen a preexisting condition. The medical and legal analysis must distinguish the harm attributable to the accident from the condition that already existed. The appropriate proof depends on the circumstances, including whether the earlier condition was active or asymptomatic.
A person who had manageable symptoms before a crash may experience a substantial change afterward. Another person may have a prior diagnosis that was causing no difficulty. Those situations should not be treated as identical, and neither should be dismissed solely because the chart contains an older diagnosis.
Medical experts may need the earlier records to explain the comparison. Withholding that history from your own lawyer makes it harder to develop a reliable account of the new injury or aggravation.
Tell your lawyer about treatment, not just prior lawsuits
An earlier problem may be relevant even if you never made an insurance claim. A course of physical therapy, a prior imaging study or treatment for a similar symptom can help establish the medical baseline.
You do not need to determine in advance which record will ultimately matter. Tell your lawyer what you remember and identify the providers where possible. Counsel can assess the relevance and request the information needed for the case.
If you do not remember a provider's name or an exact date, explain the uncertainty. Old bills, insurance records or a family calendar may help locate the history. It is better to identify an approximate period honestly than to give a precise answer that is only a guess.
Prior claims may contain useful records
If you previously made an injury claim, there may be medical reports or other materials that help explain the earlier condition. Your lawyer should know about the claim so those records can be considered appropriately.
The amount of an earlier settlement does not, by itself, establish your current medical condition or the value of a later claim. Each matter has its own facts. The relevance of particular records should be evaluated rather than assumed from the existence of a prior case.
Provide any documents you already have and explain whether another lawyer handled the matter. That allows counsel to determine what can be obtained and how it relates to the current investigation.
Explain your actual function before the accident
Medical labels do not always describe daily life fully. A prior scan may show a condition, while the person was working without restrictions and participating in normal activities. Conversely, an apparently modest diagnosis may have caused substantial limitations.
Describe the practical baseline. Were you performing your ordinary duties? Had treatment ended or was it continuing? What assistance did you need before the event compared with afterward? Those details give medical experts and the factfinder a more useful comparison.
Do not exaggerate either side of that comparison. The strongest account is one that fairly describes both the earlier condition and the change. Records and witnesses may help support it.
Privacy concerns should be discussed with counsel
Telling your lawyer about a sensitive medical issue does not mean every detail will automatically be shared publicly. The scope of discovery, applicable privileges and protective measures require legal analysis. Raise the concern so counsel can address it through the appropriate process.
At the same time, the underlying facts do not become immune from discovery simply because you discussed them with your lawyer. Attorney-client protections and the discoverability of medical information are different questions.
Do not decide on your own to omit information from a formal response because it feels private or unrelated. Review the request with counsel. A proper objection or limitation should be made through the legal process while truthful responses are provided where required.
Correct an incomplete answer promptly
If you remember something after an interview or discovery response, tell your lawyer. An honest update can be evaluated and handled appropriately. It is better to raise the issue than assume a detail cannot be addressed because it was not recalled the first time.
Do not alter old records or attempt to make a prior history disappear. The useful work is to understand the information and explain it accurately. A complete record may show that an earlier condition had resolved or that the new event produced a distinct change.
The medical comparison should support a fair claim
A lawyer should not promise compensation for every condition a person has ever experienced. The claim must be tied to the responsible event and supported by evidence. That is why the earlier history matters.
It also provides an opportunity to address an insurer's overly broad suggestion that everything was preexisting. A careful comparison can identify what was actually present before and what changed afterward. The answer should come from the records and qualified medical reasoning.
Bring the history into the conversation early
You can seek advice even if your medical background is complicated. Start with what you know and allow the remaining records to be developed. Your prior injury history is information to work with, not a reason to assume that no one can help.
Sources and Further Reading
About Michael B. Fusco
Michael B. Fusco is a New Jersey personal injury attorney certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Read Mike’s biography and credentials.
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If you have questions about an injury in New Jersey, I am happy to discuss what happened and the options the facts may support. You do not need to have every document or answer before contacting us. Call 732-465-8733 or contact Fusco Law for a free personal injury consultation.
General Information
This article provides general information, not legal advice for a particular situation. Laws and policy terms must be applied to the actual facts. Reading this article or contacting the firm does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.