A back that already ached from time to time, a knee that had bothered someone for years, an old shoulder injury that mostly stayed quiet. Insurance companies love finding these details in a medical history, because they know exactly how to use them to argue a new injury claim is worth far less than it actually is, even when the accident clearly made things significantly worse.
The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
South Dakota, like most states, follows what is often called the eggshell plaintiff rule, meaning a defendant takes an injured person as they find them. If someone with a pre-existing back condition suffers a significantly worse injury because of a crash, the at fault party is generally responsible for the full extent of that worsened condition, not just what an average uninjured person might have experienced. This principle exists specifically to prevent defendants from escaping responsibility simply because a victim happened to be more vulnerable than average.
Why Insurers Push Back So Hard on This Point
Despite this legal principle, insurance adjusters routinely argue that a claimant’s current pain stems mostly or entirely from a pre-existing condition rather than the recent accident, especially when any prior treatment appears anywhere in the medical file.
- Requesting years of prior medical records looking for any earlier complaint of similar pain
- Arguing that an MRI shows degenerative changes that predate the crash
- Suggesting that a claimant’s daily activities would have caused the same pain eventually
- Offering a reduced settlement based on the assumption that the injury was already fully present
The Difference Between Aggravation and New Injury
Medical and legal analysis in these cases generally focuses on whether an accident aggravated an existing condition or caused an entirely separate injury layered on top of it. Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP looks at either scenario as potentially supporting a valid claim, but proving the connection requires clear documentation showing a meaningful change from a person’s baseline condition before the accident.
Why Medical Records From Before the Crash Matter
A Pierre personal injury lawyer building a case involving a pre-existing condition typically requests treatment records from well before the accident, since a documented baseline makes it much easier to show exactly how much worse things became afterward and why.
Building the Comparison That Actually Wins These Cases
A clear before and after picture tends to carry real weight with both insurers and juries, often more than any other single piece of evidence in these disputes.
- Medical records showing the treatment pattern and pain levels prior to the accident
- Records showing intensified or new symptoms following the crash
- A treating physician’s opinion connecting the change to the accident specifically
- Documentation of any new functional limitations that did not exist beforehand
Anyone with a prior injury history who was hurt in a new accident in the Pierre area can speak with a Pierre personal injury lawyer to understand how that history might actually affect their case.