The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
New York follows the "eggshell plaintiff" doctrine: a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If you had a prior back condition and a car accident aggravated it, the at-fault driver is responsible for the aggravation — not protected by your vulnerability. The existence of prior conditions does not defeat a claim; it requires careful documentation of how the accident changed your condition.
What Matters: The Change in Condition
The legal question in a pre-existing condition case is not "did you have any prior problems?" but rather "how did the accident change your condition?" MAIC's initial evaluation specifically documents pre-accident baseline status and establishes the new or aggravated findings following the collision.
The "Aggravation" Documentation Strategy
When a pre-existing condition is involved, MAIC's treating physicians specifically document: the patient's pre-accident symptom status and functional level; the new symptoms and functional limitations that emerged after the accident; the objective examination findings that are new or worsened compared to pre-accident baseline; and the clinical opinion that the accident caused the aggravation to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
If you have prior medical history and were recently in an accident, call MAIC at (888) 991-5290 — our documentation approach specifically addresses this situation.