In a disputed personal injury case, some of the most important medical evidence may come from before the car crash or other inciting accident.
Insurance companies frequently review prior medical records looking for anything they can use to argue that your symptoms were already there. If an MRI shows degenerative disc disease, arthritis, disc bulges, or similar findings, the insurer may claim the accident didn’t cause your condition at all.
Arguments of pre-existing degeneration and other conditions can sound convincing, but they are also often incomplete. At Crosley Law, we know that the real question is usually not whether something existed before the crash. It is what changed because of the crash.
Why insurance companies want your prior medical records
If you make a significant injury claim, particularly one involving your neck, back, shoulders, or joints, the insurance company will often investigate your earlier medical history.
Their investigation may include:
- Primary care records
- Orthopedic treatment
- Chiropractic records
- Prior MRIs, X-rays, or CT scans
- Earlier accident claims
- Pharmacy records
- Previous surgeries or injuries
Prior records can establish a baseline showing how you were functioning before the accident and what changed afterward.
If someone had chronic neck pain, numbness in the same arm, and ongoing treatment for several years before a collision, that history matters when determining what the new accident caused.
But prior medical records can also help an injured person’s claim. Suppose years of records show routine doctor visits with no such complaints. Then, immediately after a crash, those symptoms begin and continue. The medical history here creates a very different picture.
What does “degeneration” on an MRI actually mean?
After a crash, an MRI report may contain unfamiliar and alarming terms such as:
- Enfermedad degenerativa del disco
- Spondylosis
- Osteophytes
- Disc desiccation
- Loss of disc height
- Disc bulging
- Foraminal narrowing
Insurance adjusters often highlight these words because they sound like proof that the injury existed before the accident.
But “degenerative” generally describes changes in anatomy that develop over time. Spinal discs may lose water content and height. Bone spurs can develop. Joints can become arthritic. Spaces where nerves travel may narrow. Those changes become increasingly common as people get older.
Importantly, an MRI shows anatomy. It doesn’t show whether you were experiencing symptoms before the crash. Someone can have significant degeneration on imaging and still live an active life without neck pain, weakness, numbness, or any need for treatment.
Asymptomatic degeneration is common
Research has shown that degenerative spine findings are common even among people who report no symptoms.
A major systematic review published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology examined imaging findings from more than 3,000 asymptomatic people. Degenerative changes became increasingly common with age, leading the researchers to caution that many of these findings may simply reflect normal aging rather than the source of pain.
That doesn’t mean degeneration is meaningless to every case, but it must be interpreted within context. Doctors and lawyers generally consider questions such as:
- Did the patient have pain before the accident?
- Were there prior neurological symptoms?
- Did the patient have activity restrictions?
- When did the new symptoms begin?
- Do the symptoms match the level of the abnormality seen on imaging?
- Did treatment directed at that condition improve the symptoms?
How a crash can affect a degenerative spine
A person doesn‘t need to have a “perfect spine” before an accident to have a valid personal injury claim.
Many adults have some level of age-related change in their neck or back and a collision may interact with that pre-existing anatomy in several ways. Depending on the circumstances, trauma may cause a new disc injury, increase inflammation, worsen existing narrowing, or trigger symptoms from a condition that had previously caused no problems.
That is ultimately a medical causation question and not something an insurance adjuster can answer simply by quoting one line from a radiology report.
Prior medical records can create a powerful “before and after”
Think of your prior medical history as a baseline. To understand what an accident changed, doctors and attorneys need some idea of where you started.
Useful pre-crash evidence can include routine medical visits with no relevant complaints, employment records showing full-duty work, exercise history, hobbies, travel, household responsibilities, and other evidence showing normal function. All of this information can become particularly important when post-crash symptoms are specific.
For example, suppose someone had occasional neck stiffness years earlier but never experienced pain traveling into an arm. After a collision, the person develops constant neck pain, numbness into the thumb and index finger, weakness, and reduced reflexes.
Those are not necessarily the same condition simply because both histories contain the word “neck.” A fair comparison should look at:
- Frequency
- Severity
- Location
- Neurological symptoms
- Functional limitations
- Treatment needs
- Whether the prior condition resolved
Ellen’s case: degeneration existed, but symptoms did not
A recent Crosley Law case illustrates why prior medical records and degeneration must be evaluated together.
After a garbage truck backed into her vehicle, Ellen’s cervical MRI showed significant degeneration at C5-6. That gave the defense an obvious argument: her neck problem was caused by aging rather than the collision.
But her prior medical history didn’t show Ellen’s C5-6 condition had been causing symptoms before the crash. She had not been treated for neck pain and didn’t have the neck-and-arm symptom pattern that developed after the collision.
After the wreck, Ellen developed neck pain and symptoms extending into her left arm and hand. An MRI was performed ten days later. She then underwent approximately 15 months of conservative treatment before three spine surgeons recommended surgery.
Even the defense-retained spine surgeon reviewed her prior records and testified that he did not see evidence that the C5-6 degeneration had been symptomatic before the collision. He concluded that the crash caused the previously asymptomatic condition to become symptomatic and started the treatment process that ultimately led to surgery.
The case demonstrates why an MRI showing degeneration does not automatically resolve causation. In fact, the same prior medical records the defense may hope will reveal a pre-existing problem can sometimes demonstrate that the person had been living normally without the symptoms at issue.
Prior records can hurt a claim too
However, it’s important to be realistic. Prior medical records do not always help.
If records show that you were experiencing the same symptoms, receiving similar treatment, and dealing with the same functional limitations shortly before the crash, the insurance company will likely argue that the accident caused little or no additional harm.
These cases don’t necessarily mean you have no claim because a collision can still aggravate a pre-existing condition.
Suppose someone had intermittent back pain before a crash but was working normally and managing the condition with occasional over-the-counter medication. After the collision, the pain becomes constant, begins radiating into a leg, requires injections, and ultimately leads to surgery. In this case, an effective argument toward the crash causing additional harm might still be made.
Why you should never hide a prior injury or condition
Some accident victims worry that telling their lawyer or doctor about an old back injury, prior crash, or earlier neck problem will ruin their case. That’s a serious mistake.
Trying to hide a prior condition usually creates a bigger problem than the condition itself. Insurance companies and defense lawyers often have ways to discover previous medical treatment, insurance claims, imaging, prescriptions, and accidents. If a prior condition could have been explained honestly as mild, resolved, or asymptomatic, failing to disclose it may instead make the injured person appear dishonest.
The stronger approach is usually to disclose your medical history accurately and deal with it directly. Your personal injury attorney can then investigate the issue before the insurance company tries to use it as a surprise.
What evidence can establish your pre-crash baseline?
Prior medical records are important, but they are not the only evidence that can show what your life looked like before an accident.
Primary-care records
Routine medical visits can be especially useful because they were created for reasons unrelated to litigation.
If you repeatedly saw your doctor for annual physicals, illnesses, or unrelated conditions without mentioning neck or back pain, those records may help show that the symptoms were not an ongoing problem.
Earlier imaging
Prior MRIs can cut both ways. They might prove that degeneration or another abnormality existed before the crash, but they can also show that you lived with that anatomy for years without significant symptoms or treatment.
Work and activity history
Your job, exercise routine, hobbies, household responsibilities, and other activities can provide evidence of your prior function.
Someone who regularly worked a physically demanding job, exercised, traveled, played golf, cared for children, or completed home projects may present a very different baseline than someone who was already significantly restricted.
Friends, family members, and coworkers
People who knew you before and after the accident may also help describe the change.
A spouse might explain that you never complained about neck pain before the crash but now struggle to sleep. A coworker may describe how you previously performed heavy work without difficulty but now need assistance or modified duties.
These witnesses can’t diagnose a medical condition, but they can describe what they’ve personally observed.
Frequently asked questions about degeneration and prior medical records
Will a prior neck or back condition ruin my personal injury case?
No. A prior condition may affect the causation and damages analysis, but it does not automatically prevent recovery. A crash can cause a new injury or aggravate a condition that already existed.
What if an old MRI already showed degeneration?
That can be important evidence, but it doesn’t necessarily hurt your case. It may establish that the anatomy existed before the accident while your medical records establish that it was not producing the symptoms you developed afterward.
Can a crash make degenerative disc disease symptomatic?
Yes, depending on the facts. Doctors may evaluate whether trauma caused a previously asymptomatic condition to become painful or produced additional symptoms and limitations.
Can the insurance company obtain my old medical records?
Relevant prior medical records are often requested in significant injury claims, particularly once litigation begins. Disputes can arise over how far back the insurer is entitled to look and whether unrelated medical information must be produced.
What if I had occasional pain before the accident?
That doesn’t necessarily mean your current condition is the same. The analysis should compare the severity, frequency, location, neurological symptoms, treatment needs, and functional limitations before and after the accident.
Should I tell my attorney about prior accidents and injuries?
Yes. Full disclosure allows your attorney to investigate the prior history, identify helpful records, prepare for potential insurance company arguments, and explain legitimate differences between your old condition and your new one.
Crosley Law looks at the complete medical history
At Crosley Law, our attorneys have extensive experience building and interpreting medical cases. We don’t rely on a single MRI report or a carefully selected medical record. We look at the whole story.
That means reviewing relevant medical history before and after the accident, obtaining prior imaging when appropriate, identifying changes in symptoms and function, and working with treating physicians and qualified experts who can explain how the medical evidence fits together.
If an insurance company is blaming your current neck, back, or spine condition on degeneration or an old injury after an accident in San Antonio, Bexar County, or elsewhere in Texas, contact Crosley Law to request a free consultation. We can go over your case and see whether your medical records tell a much more complete story than the insurance company suggests.
El contenido proporcionado aquí es solo para fines informativos y no debe interpretarse como asesoramiento legal sobre ningún tema.
