The second element a plaintiff must show in order to recover from an at-fault party is what is known as “injury causation.” This is the legal way of saying that the plaintiff’s injuries must be caused by the incident.

In many cases, such as broken bones, the fact that an injury was caused by an accident is crystal clear. Other times, however, disputes arise concerning the plaintiff’s ability to show that physical injuries were caused from an accident. Insurance companies may try to point to previous medical conditions in order to say that the accident did not cause the at issue injury. Keep in mind that you have a right to privacy when it comes to your medical records and you do not have to, nor should you, sign blanket medical releases provided by an insurance company.

In order to see how this works, consider the following example:

Say the plaintiff, who is 55 years old, is rear-ended at a high rate of speed. After several months of physical therapy, plaintiff undergoes an MRI which shows a bulging disc in his back that will require surgery. The MRI also shows normal degenerative changes that occur in all of us over time. In our hypothetical situation, the plaintiff had also seen a chiropractor three years before the accident due to a fall from a ladder.

In this typical case, the insurance company will likely try to argue that plaintiff’s surgery was not caused by the accident, but was rather due to the “degenerative” changes in plaintiff’s back or even possibly his prior fall. As you can imagine, we see many variations of the above scenario. When this type of situation arises, it is important for us to become involved as quickly as possible.

Keep in mind that according to Colorado law, a defendant is responsible for the harm he or she causes in aggravating a pre-existing injury. It is important to thoroughly discuss this situation with your attorney should it arise. Also, it does not matter if the plaintiff is particularity susceptible to a particular injury. In Colorado, you “take you plaintiff as you find him.” Meaning, it does not matter if the plaintiff is easily injured. The defendant is responsible for the injury caused. This is known as the “thin-skull” doctrine.

If you have any questions regarding your case, please call or email us today. We take great pride in our commitment to our clients and look forward to helping you.