Some people who are wanting to claim are often worried about doing so, mainly because they have concerns surrounding the injury they have suffered. The common worries are that their injury is a pre-existing one that has been or the accident has aggravated something that may not be common in every person and therefore may not be directly linked with the defendant’s negligent actions.
For example: Bob works in a factory where he works with molten metal. Another employee negligently drops something into the liquid metal causing it to splash on Bob’s lip causing a serious burn. However, it also happens to land on premalignant tissue and consequently the metal triggers the cancer making Bob seriously ill. The other employee of course could never have expected the splash to cause such an injury – so can Bob claim for compensation for the cancer that has been triggered even though the most foreseeable injury is the burn?
The answer is yes and the above circumstances come from a leading case of Smith v Leech. A principle known as the “eggshell skull rule” means that the defendant has to take the victim as he finds them. Therefore if someone has a reaction to something but that reaction is because the claimant has a pre-existing condition or is more sensitive to something, the defendant will still be held liable for the injury. This rule ensures that a defendant will not escape liability merely by relying on the claimant’s vulnerability or particular nature.
In the above case Lord Parker stated that:
“If a man is negligently run over… it is no answer to the sufferer’s claim for damages that he would have suffered less injury… if he had not had an unusually thin skull or an unusually weak heart”.
Pre-existing injuries
All of us can be said to have a pre-existing condition, from our bad knees to a genetic abnormality. Therefore, when you seek medical attention after your accident the doctor may say that it is a pre-existing condition (that you may or may not know about) that has been aggravated by the negligence of another. Now it is possible that the pre-existing injury has never even caused you pain before! So are you still entitled to claim?
As above, of course you are! Of course the other side may try and use this as fuel to limit their liability but a good personal injury lawyer will not let them.
In the same way as above- the defendant has to take the victim as he finds them and therefore you would be entitled to claim just as much as somebody who has never had any injuries at all in their whole lives!
So if you have been injured as a result of an accident, whether the injury was worse because of an underlying vulnerability or a pre-existing injury, do not think that you are not entitled to claim. We represent many clients whose injuries fit into these categories and ensure that each of them get the result they deserve. We only deal with personal injury claims and therefore have extensive experience in this area and understand that getting back to normality is your top priority!
