Naples car accident attorney

Published on: April 28, 2023

Experienced Naples Car Accident Lawyer Can Help Properly Address Preexisting Conditions in Crash Cases

Yes, a past injury or illness can absolutely impact a Florida personal injury claim. As our Naples car accident lawyer can explain, a preexisting condition complicates the claims process because the burden is on the plaintiff to prove the injury at issue was either caused or aggravated by the negligent act.

For instance, if you’ve been seeing a chiropractor for years for back pain – and then are in a crash that you claim resulted in back injuries – it’s up to you to prove that your injuries are new or that old injury were exacerbated by the crash.

To do all this effectively requires that you’re upfront with your Naples car accident lawyer about your pre-existing conditions. It is also important that you are upfront with your medical providers about your old injuries and are able to distinguish and describe the new injuries or at a minimum explain that they have been made worse. Your attorney is then responsible to be sure the aggravation of a pre-existing condition is properly pleaded and supported in the special damages portion of the lawsuit. Special damages for the aggravation of a preexisting condition must be expressly stated in the claim and supported by the evidence. It’s not assumed.

We saw this play out in the recent case of State Farm v. Davis, decided by a panel of judges for Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal. In this case, insurance company State Farm appealed a $500,000 verdict, which included compensation for future medical expenses and future non-economic damages, including for aggravation of a preexisting condition.

The case stemmed from a 2016 Florida car accident between the plaintiff and another driver, an uninsured/underinsured motorist accused of negligence. As such, the plaintiff filed a claim for damages with her own UM/UIM car insurance company. The insurer conceded the other driver was at-fault, but contested the causation, nature, extent, and consequences of her injuries. Basically, the insurance company didn’t believe her injuries (or not all of them) resulted from the crash or as serious as she claimed. During the discovery process, it was revealed plaintiff had been receiving chiropractic care for pain and limited movement in her neck and lower back for 14 years prior to the crash. In the previous 6 years before the car accident, the plaintiff had seen a physician nearly 50 times for neck and lower back pain – one of those just three days before the crash. The doctor who treated her would later testify that the injuries he’d been treating her for weren’t the same as the injuries she’d suffered in the crash. An orthopedic surgeon she began seeing after the crash testified that two herniated discs and joint/neck pain were a result of the crash – for which she’d need future surgeries. However, no medical testimony or other evidence was presented by the plaintiff to indicate that the car accident resulted in an aggravation of her preexisting injuries or conditions.

A Naples car accident lawyer can explain that people injured in crashes might or might not have preexisting conditions, and those might or might not be aggravated in the crash. But even if the same general part of the body that has a preexisting condition is injured in the crash, and even though this might naturally and proximately result in aggravation, it is not necessarily the case. This must be specifically alleged, pleaded, and supported. Continue reading

Published on: December 16, 2021

Do I Really Need a Lawyer for a Car Accident in Florida?

by Leland Garvin

Naples car accident lawyer You’re going about a regular day when suddenly you’re blindsided in a Florida car accident. Traumatic and jarring, the experience may leave you bewildered about what to do next. Often, one of the first questions is, “Do I really need a lawyer?”

The answer depends on a myriad of factors. Let’s start with something we can say unequivocally: There is no law anywhere in Florida statutes that says you must hire a lawyer if you’re involved in a crash. However, there are numerous situations in which it would be prudent or even strongly advisable to do so.

Here, we offer the top three questions to ask before deciding if you should hire a car accident lawyer in Florida: Continue reading

Published on: December 16, 2020

Can I Sue the Rental Company for Florida Car Accident Injuries?

by Leland Garvin

Florida car accident injuries

When it comes to liability for Florida car accident injuries, well-established case law and the dangerous instrumentality doctrine allow vehicle owners to be held liable for injuries caused by the negligence of authorized drivers – even if the owner was not driving or otherwise negligent. However, there are exceptions for rental car companies under the federal Graves Amendment. Still, it may be possible to sue a rental car company for Florida car accident injuries under certain circumstances if the company is negligent.

A recent example is playing out in Florida courts, as reported by The Tampa Bay Times. While the possibility of recovery in this far-fetched case is incredibly unlikely, it will work to illustrate the point. This case started in 2013 when a man rented a vehicle from Enterprise. According to the affidavit, written from a corrections center where he is serving hard time for vehicular homicide, plaintiff stated he was in no shape to drive when he entered the rental center to rent a vehicle.

He reportedly could not get a rental in his own name because his driver’s license had expired. Plus, there was a warrant for his arrest. When he entered the rental facility, he said he was so intoxicated he could hardly walk. Because he did not have his own valid driver’s license, he presented that of his younger brother. He alleges that a management trainee at the facility either knew or should have known that his drunk state alone rendered him unsafe to drive. The fact that he was handed the keys anyway, he alleges, amounted to negligence.