They may argue that the crash didnt aggravate your condition at all. A personal injury demand letter is a letter that formally requests compensation for damages suffered as a result of a personal injury. In spite of this noble intention, insurance companies are infamous for using the eggshell skull rule to profit. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. As commonly stated in this area of law, a defendant must "take his victim as he finds him," and is responsible for all consequences that arise from his actions, even if the injuries are far more severe than he could have reasonably foreseen. Introduction. The eggshell skull rule, also known as the thin skull rule, says that the frailty, weakness, sensitivity, or feebleness of a victim cannot be used as a defense in a personal injury claim. Read more The abstract goal of any personal injury lawsuit is to seek justice by holding a party accountable for the harm their negligence has inflicted upon another person. This is especially true when your case involves the eggshell skull rule. That is the eggshell skull rule . My word against your word scenarios happen all the time after auto accidents, especially when there are few other witnesses at the scene. What Should You Do After a FedEx Truck Crash in Texas? While a normal person might only experience headaches and some bruising, the impact fractures your delicate skull. [10], In the Australian case of Nader v Urban Transit Authority of NSW,[4] the plaintiff was a 10 year old boy who struck his head on a bus stop pole while alighting from a slowly moving bus. If a defendant negligently causes the injury of someone else, then they are responsible for . Is the driver who caused the car accident responsible for all of your injuries, even though you were hurt so badly in part because youre more susceptible to injuries than a normal person? The answer is yes, because of an established legal doctrine known as the eggshell skull rule.. Gulisano Law, PLLC. Shareholder Action Against Company Directors. 2008). The thin skull rule is not to be confused with the related crumbling skull rule in which the plaintiff suffers from a detrimental position (from a prior injury, for instance) pre-existent to the occurrence of the present tort. In many personal injury claims, it is crucial for the doctor who provides treatment to be willing to offer their opinion about the cause. Copyright 2022.All Rights Reserved. The deputies argued that they should not be liable because the plaintiffs son had a condition that already diminished his life expectancy. Crosley Law: Cutting-Edge Tactics for Accident Victims, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth639249/m1/375/, fill out the form for a free consultation, The at-fault party owed you a duty of care, like the duty to look out for pedestrians and other drivers, The at-fault person violated this duty of care by running a red light, texting while driving, or engaging in other reckless activities, The reckless conduct caused your injuries, You suffered damages, like wage loss, medical bills, and pain and suffering. If the person with OI is hit from behind in a motor vehicle collision and suffers medical damages (such as clavicle fracture), it would not be a valid defense to state that the osteogenesis imperfecta was the cause of the fracture. Eggshell-Skull Principle Definition. If this is the difficult position you find yourself in, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side. Privacy Policy and An oft-cited example of a plaintiff whose injuries are covered by the eggshell plaintiff or Thin Skull Rule is one who suffers from hemophilia. Co-morbidities have always complicated workers' compensation cases by prolonging treatment and increasing costs. When the facts are in your favor, the insurance companies tend to offer a higher settlement. Essentially, this boils down to one thing. This is particularly difficult when a victim received treatment for the same injuries or a similar one. It says that plaintiffs aren't at fault for their condition, and that the defendant has to take full responsibility for the injuries they caused. The eggshell skull rule, or eggshell doctrine to some, applies to accident victims who have either pre-existing medical conditions or physical limitations. If an injury is not immediate, but a separate situation agitates the injury (such as the injured party being involved in a vehicular collision while being taken to a hospital), the tortfeasor is not liable under common law in Australia (see Haber v Walker,[11] and Mahoney v Kruschich Demolitions[12]). This is because an intervening event that aggravates an existing injury or causes a new injury complicates the connection. Nevertheless, the court found that the kicking was unlawful because it violated the "order and decorum of the classroom", and the perpetrator was therefore fully liable for the injury. The victim sustains a more severe concussion. The "eggshell skull" rule makes the tortfeasor take his/her victim as s/he finds him. explains that the Eggshell Skull Rule (as it applies to personal injury claims) means the at-fault party in the claim takes his victim as he finds him.. See Prosser & Keeton on the Law of Torts 43, at 292 (5th ed. If a car crash or another accident aggravates your pre-existing injury or condition (or leads to a more severe injury than the typical person would suffer), you should immediately contact a personal injury lawyer. This means that if the injured partys pre-existing condition causes him or her to be seriously injured by that chalk toss, the law says, so be it. The eggshell skull rule helps protect victims from something that they don't have any control over. This is a longstanding legal rule that can be easily demonstrated with the following simplified example: The accident victim has a pre-existing condition that leaves her with a skull as delicate as an eggshell. The concept of the eggshell skull rule was introduced in the 1890s following a case known as Andrew Vosburg v. George Putney, which took place in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Can Owners Be Held Liable for the Negligent Handling of Animals? If you have a pre-existing condition and fall victim to another persons negligence, its important to work with a team of Houston personal injury lawyers. When this applies, the victim might only recover damages that result directly from the incident. Finally, if the jury decides that the defendants negligence aggravated your condition, you will receive damages. Youll need to collect all your medical records and imaging studies, retain the right experts, and carefully build your trial presentation to educate the jury. A normal person would only have been bruised by the hit, but . The eggshell skull rule is often also called thin skull rule. 2020). The eggshell skull rule also applies in cases of negligence or carelessness. You call your doctor, and they schedule an MRI. In scenarios like these, retaining a tough, experienced personal injury attorney is invaluable in making sure that you are compensated fairly for your injuries. His predisposition to cancer did not matter, nor did the results of the injury. Fla. Apr. Rule that holds a tortfeasor liable for the full extent of the harm caused by the tort, even if the severity of the harm is due to the victim's innate condition or vulnerability, of which the tortfeasor could not possibly have been aware. In fact, Illinois has codified this rule in the Illinois Pattern Civil Jury Instruction No. Putney. Contact our firm today to schedule a confidential and free case evaluation. ;26?AB827",o="";for(var j=0,l=mi.length;j Camera Di Commercio Milano Via Meravigli,
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