When a Worksite Collision Meets a “Pre-Existing” Defense: A Central Valley Injury Case
Adamson Ahdoot represented our client, a veteran water-truck driver seriously injured when a heavy wheel loader reversed into his pickup at a Central Valley dairy.
The End of an Ordinary Shift
On an afternoon in May 2021, around 4:30 p.m., our client — a 68-year-old contract water-truck driver — had finished his shift and was driving his personal pickup through the commodity area of a Central Valley dairy. As he passed through, a farm employee operating a heavy wheel loader reversed into the access way without looking. The loader struck the front passenger side of the truck and pushed it several feet before another worker flagged the operator down. The pickup was totaled — and what began as the end of a routine workday became the start of years of medical care.
Injuries That Reshaped Daily Life
The collision led to serious damage in both of our client’s hips, including loss of blood supply to the bone and severe arthritis. His condition deteriorated to the point that he was nearly wheelchair-bound, and before surgery one leg had become noticeably shorter than the other.
Over the following years he underwent two total hip replacements within a matter of months, alongside earlier procedures and injections that could not resolve the problem. He also dealt with lasting back and neck pain with nerve symptoms — and, according to his treating surgeon and a life-care planner, faces the prospect of two further hip-revision surgeries years down the road. Beyond the physical toll was a real emotional one: the loss of independence and of the active life he had known.
The Defense You Should Know About: “It Was Pre-Existing”
The farm’s defense will sound familiar to many older injury victims. Rather than focus only on how the collision happened, the defense argued that a 68-year-old’s hip problems were simply the product of age and pre-existing degeneration — not the crash.
This argument matters because it discourages people from coming forward. But California law is clear on the point: a negligent party is responsible for the harm it causes even when it aggravates a condition the person already had. A defendant does not escape responsibility simply because an injured person was older or not in perfect health beforehand. We contended — supported by the treating surgeon and a certified life-care planner — that the collision caused or substantially worsened the hip damage that made the surgeries necessary.
Building the Case: Safety Failures and Medical Proof
Two threads carried the case. The first was accountability for how the collision happened. An employer is generally responsible for the negligence of an employee acting within the scope of their job. Here, the operator reversed into a shared access way without looking — without using the cab’s rear window or mirrors, and with a backup camera that had been left dirty and unmaintained — and reversed when moving forward would have been safer. We also examined the farm’s own safety practices, including whether it warned outside contractors of equipment traffic, posted adequate signage, trained its operators, and maintained a meaningful safety program.
The second thread was proving the true extent of the harm. We documented the full arc of our client’s care — from the initial injuries through both hip replacements and the future treatment his physicians anticipated — so the real, long-term cost of the collision was clear rather than left to speculation.
The Human Cost
Behind the medical record was a working man in his late sixties who lost his mobility and much of his independence in a single afternoon. Throughout the case, our focus stayed on him: protecting his recovery and securing the resources he will need for the years of care still ahead.
What This Means for You
- “Pre-existing” is an argument, not a defense to everything. In California, a negligent party can be held responsible for making an existing condition worse.
- Shared worksites carry real duties. When heavy equipment and outside contractors share space, looking before reversing, maintaining safety equipment, and warning visitors are basic obligations.
- Documenting future care matters. The long-term cost of a serious injury — including surgeries years away — is part of the harm, and it has to be proven.
About Adamson Ahdoot LLP
Adamson Ahdoot LLP is a personal injury law firm based in Los Angeles, serving clients throughout California. Our attorneys handle motor-vehicle and heavy-equipment collision cases, worksite injury claims, and serious orthopedic injury matters that require thorough medical documentation and close collaboration with treating physicians, safety experts, and life-care planners.
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