What is an aggravation of a pre-existing condition?
The concept covers a condition that existed before the crash and was made worse by it. You recover for the worsening, not for the underlying condition.
How it's established. A treating physician compares your condition before and after and offers an opinion on what the crash contributed. Prior imaging is enormously helpful, because comparing a scan from before to one after can show acute change against a chronic background.
What the jury is asked. Not whether you had a bad back. Whether this crash made it worse, and by how much.
Where these cases are won. On function. A person who worked full time, coached a team, and hadn't seen a doctor about their back in three years is credible when they say the crash changed things — regardless of what an MRI shows about degeneration.
Where they're lost. Where the person was actively treating for the same complaint immediately before the crash and the records look identical after.
Practical step: gather your own pre-crash records early. Knowing what they say is better than discovering it at a deposition.
Get your own prior records first. Know what they say before anyone else does. ---
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