You did the right thing. At some point, maybe years ago, maybe recently, you went to therapy. You talked to someone about your anxiety, a difficult relationship, or a rough patch. You took care of yourself. Now you've been injured, you've filed a claim, and suddenly the insurance company is digging through your mental health history and using the fact that you once sought help against you. Their argument is predictable: your current symptoms are pre-existing, not new. You were already struggling before this happened.

It's an effective tactic, and it works more often than it should. Here's what insurance companies hope nobody in the room understands: having a prior mental health history does not mean a new traumatic event can't cause new or significantly worsened psychological injuries. If you had a back injury ten years ago that healed, and someone rear-ends you and injures your back again, the insurance company can't just say "you already had a bad back." They owe you for the new injury and for any aggravation of the old one. The same principle applies to psychological conditions. A person who managed mild anxiety with occasional therapy and then develops debilitating PTSD after an assault is not the same person they were before. The insurance company wants to blur that line. A psychologist-attorney knows how to draw it sharply.

Here's something most people don't expect to hear: your old therapy records can actually strengthen your case. If your prior therapist's notes show that your symptoms were mild, that you responded well to treatment, and that you were functioning well when you left, that's documented proof of a healthy baseline. It's evidence that you were doing fine before this happened. Without those records, the defense could argue you were always this impaired and just never sought help. Your old therapy notes take that argument off the table.

The key to defeating this defense is demonstrating the difference between before and after, and that's where some attorneys fall short. Not because they're bad lawyers, but because they don't have the clinical training to interpret mental health records, understand diagnostic criteria, or explain the difference between a managed pre-existing condition and a new trauma-related injury. At Sweeton Injury Law, that's exactly what we do. I’ve spent many years as a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma. I know how to read those records, contextualize them, and turn them from the defense's weapon into your strongest evidence.

If you've been injured and you're worried that your mental health history might hurt your case, don't be. And don't assume your history disqualifies you. The question is never whether you had prior treatment. The question is whether the incident caused new harm or made things meaningfully worse. If it did, you may have a case.

If this sounds like your situation, reach out. We'll give you an honest, informed assessment!

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