Yes. North Dakota law lets you recover for what a crash made worse, even when the injury or condition was there first. The North Dakota Supreme Court has held that the driver who caused the crash must pay for the full extent of the aggravation, though that driver does not pay for the condition you already had. The real dispute is how much worse the crash made things, and medical proof answers that question. Our North Dakota car accident attorneys build that proof from your records before and after the crash.
What North Dakota Courts Mean by Aggravation
Aggravation means the crash worsened an injury or condition you had before it. Examples include an old back injury that now needs surgery, arthritis that flared, or headaches that became more frequent. In a 1986 decision, the North Dakota Supreme Court repeated an old rule of personal injury law: the person who causes an injury “takes his victim as he finds him.” The court said a jury should be told that a negligent party cannot escape the consequences of its negligence simply because the accident would not have hurt a healthier person as badly. Lawyers call this the eggshell plaintiff rule.
The court has limited the rule in two ways. In a 1989 decision, the court held that the at-fault party must compensate the injured person for the full extent of the aggravation but is not liable for the pre-existing condition itself. In a 1980 Bismarck crash case, the court approved a jury instruction saying the driver is not liable for worsening that comes from natural causes.
The injured man in the 1989 case had a long history of migraines. A drunk driver crashed into a mobile home while he was on the roof of an attached shed, and he fell through the roof. His neurologist concluded that a muscle pain condition caused by the injury made the migraines worse. A testifying doctor could not say how much of the problem came from a genetic tendency and how much came from the accident. The court held that this did not bar recovery and upheld the jury’s award for permanent disability. A 1998 decision added that the degree of aggravation is a question for the jury.
The No-Fault Threshold You Have to Clear First
North Dakota is a no-fault state. No-fault coverage pays economic loss, such as medical bills and part of your lost income, without regard to who caused the crash. Basic no-fault benefits top out at $30,000 per person for one accident.
For a North Dakota crash, when the other driver’s vehicle carries the required no-fault security and you qualify for no-fault benefits, state law shields that driver from paying economic loss that no-fault benefits have paid or will pay. The same law shields that driver from paying for pain, suffering, and inconvenience unless your injury is a serious injury. The statute defines a serious injury as one that results in death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, a disability beyond 60 days, or medical expenses above $2,500. Disability, for this purpose, means you cannot do substantially all of your usual daily activities.
If you had a pre-existing condition, the at-fault driver’s insurer will argue that some of your bills treat the old problem and should not count toward the $2,500. Future treatment that your doctor can say, with reasonable medical certainty, you will need can also count. Care you received free or at a reduced price counts at its usual charge if a court finds that value is more than $2,500.
In a 1998 case, a passenger whose doctors tied some of her problems to degenerative conditions swore that her crash-related medical bills topped $2,500. The Supreme Court held that her sworn testimony was enough to send the question to a jury and reversed the dismissal of her case.
How to Prove the Crash Made Your Condition Worse
To prove aggravation, you compare your health before the crash with your health after it. Evidence for that comparison includes:
- Medical records from before the crash that show your baseline, including how often you saw a doctor, what treatment you needed, and what you could still do.
- Records and imaging from after the crash that document new findings, new treatment, or a change in your treatment plan.
- A written opinion from a treating doctor that connects the change to the crash.
- Testimony from you, your family, and your coworkers about your daily activities before and after the collision.
- Work and income records. In the 1989 migraine case, the man’s tax returns showed a sharp drop in income during the period he said his headaches worsened, and the court treated that drop as support for his lost-work claim.
The records show what changed, and the doctor’s opinion explains why it changed.
Courts look closely at how certain your doctor’s opinion is. In a 2007 case from a Minot crash, a doctor diagnosed the injured man’s wrist disease as pre-existing. A testifying doctor said only that the crash “could have” aggravated it. The North Dakota Supreme Court held that an opinion about possibilities is not admissible proof. When the medical link is beyond common knowledge, the doctor must say the crash more likely than not caused or worsened the condition. Without that opinion, the man’s case was dismissed, and his testimony about his wrist before and after the crash could not replace it.
What the Insurance Company Will Do With Your Medical History
Your no-fault insurer can ask for medical records tied to the injury, including records from before the crash. North Dakota’s no-fault law requires a doctor, clinic, or hospital that treated you before or after the crash to send your no-fault insurer a written report, and to let the insurer copy its records, about a condition claimed to be connected with the injury. The provider must do this when the insurer asks in writing. The same law requires you to see a physician the insurer picks when your condition is material to a no-fault benefits claim.
In the injury claim, the at-fault driver’s insurer will argue that your symptoms existed before the crash or that your condition was getting worse by itself. North Dakota law supports the second argument when the records show a natural decline, because a driver is not liable for worsening that comes from natural causes.
If you say an old condition caused no trouble before the crash, your records have to support that. In the 1980 Bismarck case, the injured passenger testified she had no pain before the crash and asked for a jury instruction that the driver was liable for triggering a back condition that had caused no symptoms. The record showed earlier back treatment, including 59 chiropractic treatments in the years before the crash. The trial court refused the instruction, and the Supreme Court upheld that ruling because the evidence did not support her theory. A candid history gives your doctor a baseline to measure the worsening against.
Deadlines That Apply to Your Claim
In North Dakota, a lawsuit generally starts when the summons is served on whoever is being sued, not when papers are filed with the court. An injury lawsuit must be started within six years after the claim accrues, unless another statute sets a different deadline. For example, claims against the state or a local government have shorter deadlines, and a child injured before age 18 may have more time.
A lawsuit against your insurer for no-fault benefits runs on a shorter clock. If the insurer has paid nothing, you must start that lawsuit within two years after you suffer the loss and know, or should know, that the crash caused it, or within four years after the crash, whichever comes first. If the insurer has paid benefits, you have four years after the last payment to start a lawsuit for more.
Gather your records from before the crash early, so your doctor has the baseline a causation opinion needs.
How Pringle & Herigstad, P.C. Can Help
We have served North Dakota since 1909, and we handle aggravation claims after car crashes, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents. Our attorneys gather your records from before and after the crash, work with your treating doctors on a clear causation opinion, and answer the insurer’s pre-existing condition arguments with evidence. Contact us for a free consultation. We work on contingency, so you owe no attorneys’ fees unless we recover for you.