If you are age 65 or older and have been involved in an accident, your age could play a significant factor in your personal injury case. Such questions will be raised: How many years is this person expected to work? What is their life expectancy based on actuarial tables? What will their recovery time be? How will their pre-existing conditions and long medical history affect the case? Senior drivers have a much higher risk of suffering catastrophic injurices when involved in a car accident and are also more likely to have ongoing pain after an accident. It’s also much harder to get the full compensation they are entitled to because the insurance company may claim that just about any injury was preexisting.
ABILITY TO RECOVER
Aging individuals are slower to recover from injuries. In fact, many never fully recover their capabilities. Brad says, “Everyone is different and will have a different type of response to their injury. A more prolonged response to recovery will affect the value of the case. Simply put…the more you take away from someone the more valuable what you took away is.”
ADEQUATE CARE
A life-changing event may require personal care assistance with an older victim’s activities of daily living or lead to them moving to an assisted living community. Brad says, “If someone is injured in a car accident and doesn’t have a family member at home who can care for them during their recovery, they may require at-home medical care. Or the person that they are living with may lack the skill or capability to care for them. These costs are absolutely something that can be recovered in a personal injury case.”
DEFENSE STRATEGY
A defense in many personal injury cases involving older adults is that some or all of the injuries were not caused by the accident, but rather caused by preexisting conditions. If the victim’s preexisting condition was made worse by the defendant’s wrongful conduct, the defendant is responsible for compensating for the enhanced injury. “We utilize testimony from medical experts, including a client’s treating physician to combat this defense tactic. We work to educate the jury on how a preexisting condition was exacerbated or made worse by trauma from the accident,” Brad says.
INSURANCE COMPANY GAMES
Insurance companies are profit motivated corporations. Wrongfully denying a claim, delaying a claim, taking advantage of a claimant, frustrating the claimant or wearing the claimant down are tactics or games insurance companies often play. Brad says, “For those with long, complicated medical histories, it is common for insurance companies to use ‘pre-existing conditions’ as an excuse to not pay out on a claim. They will hold onto anything they can to reduce or eliminate a client’s ability to recover.”
Have You Been Injured In A Texas Accident?
If you’ve been injured you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our Bedford, Texas office directly at 817.440.3888 to schedule your free, no obligation consultation. We help personal injury clients throughout Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington as well as all areas of Texas.
At Parker Law Firm, our experienced personal injury lawyers believe people matter. We are committed to our clients, not case numbers, and we believe in the power of the civil justice system. With years spent both representing accident victims and participating in the state legislative process, our founder, Brad Parker, has developed a deep understanding of the law and gained unique experience that helps him get results for his clients.
