The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
As the Plaintiff, You Can Recover Damages from the Defendant for Unforeseen Harm Related to Your Susceptibility to Injury
Foresee means to be aware of beforehand; predict.
In car crash cases alleging negligence, proving that your injury was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant driver’s act or omission is necessary to recover damages. You will not win your case or obtain a fair auto accident settlement unless the evidence shows that a reasonable person under similar circumstances as the defendant could have foreseen a risk of harm to you. Your injury must be the natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s wrongful act or omission.
At first glance, this foreseeability rule seems to prevent a complete recovery in cases where a “routine” incident leads to unusually severe injuries or harm because of your pre-existing medical condition or susceptibility to injury. A defendant could argue the extent of your injuries was unforeseeable.
Fortunately, the common law – legal doctrines developed through judges’ opinions – has created a rule to deal with these situations and allow accident victims to recover compensation for all injuries—even unforeseeable harm.
Tort law and workers’ compensation law recognize the eggshell skull rule, also called the eggshell plaintiff doctrine or the thin skull rule.
This article discusses the eggshell skull doctrine and provides examples of how it could apply to your civil action for personal injuries or workers’ comp cases.
Continue reading to learn more.
Then call (804) 251-1620 or fill out this form if you have questions about your case and want to see if one of Virginia’s best attorneys for work injuries and motor vehicle crashes will accept representation.
How Does the Eggshell Skull Doctrine Work?
The eggshell skull rule of negligence law requires a defendant to pay damages (or workers’ compensation benefits) to a plaintiff (or claimant) for unforeseeable injuries from a pre-existing physical injury or condition.
Therefore, the eggshell plaintiff doctrine distinguishes the foreseeability of harm from the foreseeability of the exact injury.
As the Supreme Court of Virginia has held:
If the act is one which the party ought, in the exercise of ordinary care, to have anticipated was liable to result in injury to others, then he is liable for any injury proximately resulting from it, although he could not have anticipated the particular injury which did happen.
An inability to know the full extent of damages you would suffer in the incident does not save the defendant from liability if a reasonable person should have known that some injury could occur.
Does the Eggshell Skull Rule Apply in Workers’ Compensation Cases?
Yes.
Workers’ comp case law has adopted the eggshell plaintiff rule through the doctrine of compensable consequences.
Under the compensable consequences doctrine, when the primary injury arises from a risk of employment, every natural consequence that flows from the injury also arises out of the employment unless it results from an independent intervening cause attributable to the employee’s intentional conduct.
Examples of the Eggshell Plaintiff Rule
Here are two examples of the eggshell skull rule in action – one from workers’ compensation and another from a car accident case.
Eggshell Plaintiff in Workers’ Comp
Many employees in the labor force have Type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes weakens your immune system and increases the risk of skin infections and wounds that will not heal.
Under the eggshell skull rule, the Workers’ Compensation Commission may hold an employer liable for treatment and disability when a diabetic employee suffers a work-related foot fracture that causes osteomyelitis, leading to a below-the-knee amputation.
Eggshell Plaintiff in a Motor Vehicle Crash
Osteogenesis imperfecta, known as brittle bone disease, is a genetic condition that makes you more susceptible to broken bones.
This disorder makes it more likely that you will suffer orthopedic injuries to multiple body parts, including the knees, shoulders, and back, in a car crash.
Under the eggshell skull rule, a defendant in a low-speed crash is liable for broken bones suffered by a plaintiff, although a person without this condition may have suffered only bruising.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs Susceptible to Injury
When they have a losing argument on liability or compensability in an auto accident or occupational injury case, a defendant will often dispute the extent of injuries you suffered.
Fortunately, you can use the eggshell skull rule to hold the defendant liable for all consequences resulting from the incident, even if you suffer an unusual level of damage.
Our attorneys know how to develop evidence and use the eggshell plaintiff rule to maximize your workers’ compensation settlement or recovery in a lawsuit.
Contact us today to start on the path to recovery.
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