Pre-Existing Conditions and the Eggshell Plaintiff Rule in Nebraska

A common insurance tactic is to claim your injuries are really just an old condition flaring up. The law anticipates this argument, and a longstanding principle protects injured people who were more vulnerable to begin with.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule

The law holds that a wrongdoer takes the victim as they find them. If you had a pre-existing vulnerability and an accident worsened it, the at-fault party is responsible for that aggravation.

In other words, being more fragile doesn't reduce a negligent party's responsibility for the harm they caused.

Aggravation of Prior Conditions

You can recover for the extent to which an accident worsened a pre-existing condition, even if you weren't entitled to compensation for the original condition itself.

The key is distinguishing your baseline before the accident from your worsened state after it.

Overcoming the Insurer's Argument

Insurers exploit prior medical history to argue your injuries aren't accident-related. Clear medical evidence showing the change caused by the accident answers this.

Honest disclosure of your history, paired with documentation of the new harm, is far stronger than trying to hide a prior condition that records will reveal anyway.

Protecting Your Claim

Don't let a pre-existing condition discourage you from pursuing a valid claim. The law is on the side of people who were made worse by another's negligence.

A free review can help you understand how the eggshell rule applies to your situation.

This article is for general information about Nebraska law and does not constitute legal advice. Injury Claim Team is not a law firm; we connect injured Nebraskans with independent personal injury attorneys. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Nebraska attorney.