Almost 19 percent of adults in Connecticut live with some sort of disability, and more than 10 percent suffer from mobility problems. Disabilities and medical conditions could make accidents that someone else caused far more severe.
If you were recently in an accident and have physical limitations because of a previous injury or medical condition, you probably have a lot of questions. You may feel concerned that you can’t recover compensation because your condition made your accident more likely or your injuries worse than they would have been. Fortunately, in most instances, this is not the case, and individuals with physical limitations are able to recover compensation for all of their losses.
Let’s look at some of the legal principles at play here. For more information or to discuss your specific case with a personal injury lawyer in Connecticut, call our office today at (860) 875-7000 or contact us online.
The “Eggshell Plaintiff” Doctrine
The “eggshell plaintiff” doctrine states that the peculiar characteristics of a victim are not a valid defense to the seriousness of an injury. In other words, if a person has an eggshell skull and suffers a serious injury in an event that would normally not result in serious injury, the person who caused the injury cannot use the fact that the victim has an eggshell skull as a defense.
If you suffer from physical limitations that make you particularly susceptible to injury and are hurt in an accident caused by the negligence of another, this rule will operate to ensure that you recover compensation for all of your losses.
A Previous Injury Might Result in Less Compensation
One of the principles of personal injury law is that the resolution of a case is supposed to put the plaintiff back into the position he or she was before the incident. Clearly, money cannot heal a person’s injury or take away their pain and suffering, but it’s the best our system can do.
For this reason, if an accident has exacerbated a previous injury, you will only recover compensation for the amount that your injury got worse. Typically, the testimony of medical experts is used to determine the extent to which a pre-existing injury or condition has worsened.
Contributory Negligence
Finally, consider the effect of comparative negligence. Under Connecticut law, a plaintiff who is not 51 percent or more at fault for his or her accident can recover compensation, but that his or her proportion of fault will reduce compensation. For example, if you are found to be 10 percent at fault and awarded $100,000 in damages, you will receive $90,000 (10 percent of $100,000 is $10,000, and $100,000 - $10,000 = $90,000).
Obviously, having physical limitations itself is not negligent, but the way you manage them may be. For example, if a person with epilepsy went off medication, embarked on a long road trip, and was in an accident while having a seizure, a court may determine that the failure to take anti-seizure medication and then driving for hours was itself negligent.
Call Leighton, Katz & Drapeau Today to Schedule a Free Consultation with a Connecticut Personal Injury Attorney
If you suffered an injury in an accident, have an experienced attorney review the facts of your case as soon as you can. At Leighton, Katz & Drapeau, we are dedicated to helping victims recover compensation and will review the facts of your case at no cost to you. In addition, we will only collect legal fees if we successfully recover compensation on your behalf. To schedule your free consultation with a lawyer, call our office today at (860) 875-7000 or send us an email through our online contact form.
