Yes, they can try that. No, it doesn't automatically work.

If a teenage driver with a Delaware learner's permit hit you in Smyrna and there was no supervising adult in the car, that fact matters.

A lot.

So does the old MRI the insurance company is waving around like it ends the case.

It doesn't.

For a welder, this gets ugly fast. You already work a job where your back, neck, shoulders, knees, and hands take a beating. The insurer sees that and thinks it found the perfect excuse: old imaging, old pain complaints, heavy labor job, maybe some missed treatment here and there. Then it says your wreck didn't cause much of anything.

That's the game.

The permit issue is not some minor technicality

In Delaware, a driver with a learner's permit is supposed to have a qualified supervising adult in the front passenger seat. If the teen who hit you was driving alone, or just had friends in the car, that is strong evidence of negligence.

Not magic. But strong.

In a crash claim, the basic question is whether the other driver acted carelessly and caused your injuries. A teen driving around Smyrna without the required adult supervision is already starting in a bad spot. If the wreck happened near Route 13, Glenwood Avenue, or one of those busy shopping corridors where traffic bunches up and people make impatient turns, that missing supervisor can matter even more. A supervised permit driver is supposed to be learning. An unsupervised one is just out there breaking the rules.

And if the teen's parent owned the car or let them use it, that opens up another layer of insurance and responsibility worth digging into.

The old MRI is not a get-out-of-paying card

Here's what most people don't realize: a preexisting condition does not let an insurer off the hook if the crash made it worse.

That old MRI from years ago might show a bulging disc, degeneration, prior strain, or some other back issue. Fine. Lots of adults have ugly MRIs, especially people who weld, lift, crouch, climb, and drag equipment all day. The real question is whether this crash aggravated that condition or turned something manageable into something disabling.

That is a real injury under Delaware law.

Insurance adjusters love old scans because imaging looks objective. Black-and-white pictures feel convincing. But an MRI from before the wreck does not tell the whole story. What matters is the before-and-after difference:

• Were you working full shifts before the crash and now can't?
• Were you lifting steel, carrying tools, climbing ladders, or kneeling to weld before, but now you tap out after 20 minutes?
• Did the crash change your pain level, range of motion, numbness, sleep, or ability to drive?

That difference is the heart of the case.

Your job as a welder actually cuts both ways

The insurer will say your body was already worn down from labor.

You can say you were still doing the job.

That matters.

If you were showing up, getting through shifts, taking overtime, working shutdowns, or handling fabrication work before the wreck, and now you can't, that tells a cleaner story than any adjuster wants to admit. A person can have an old back problem and still get badly hurt in a new crash. Both things can be true at once.

This is where medical records get important, not just the ancient MRI. The ER records, ambulance notes, urgent care chart, orthopedic follow-ups, physical therapy complaints, and work restrictions matter more than the insurer wants you to think. Early complaints about fresh symptoms after the wreck can punch straight through the "this was all preexisting" argument.

If the crash was serious enough that you ended up at Christiana Hospital in Newark, that record carries weight. It's Delaware's only Level I trauma center for a reason. Those doctors see major crash injuries from all over the state, including wrecks coming up from Kent County.

The teen's traffic charge helps, but it doesn't decide everything

If police cited the teen for permit violations, careless driving, or something similar, that helps your civil claim.

It helps because it supports the story that the driver should not have been operating that vehicle the way they were.

But don't get carried away. A traffic ticket is not an automatic win, and a dismissed charge is not an automatic loss. Civil injury claims and traffic cases are different animals. The civil case is about fault, injuries, and money damages. The traffic case is about whether the state proves a violation.

Insurance companies love to blur that line when it benefits them.

Lost wages hit harder when you work with your body

For a welder in Smyrna, this is not just about the ER bill.

It's about missed shifts, smaller paychecks, lost overtime, and the possibility that your body won't let you do the same work the same way. If your right leg goes numb on a scaffold, if you can't stay bent over a bead, if your neck locks up turning to check a torch line, your earning power takes the hit.

That damage is real even if an old MRI exists.

And if the insurer starts acting like the prior scan erases the crash, look at the timing. Were you stable before and spiraling after? Were you getting by before and now getting injections, therapy, or new restrictions? That timeline matters more than the adjuster's favorite radiology report.

Especially in a small place like Smyrna, where people know what hard physical work looks like, the difference between "I had some wear and tear" and "I can't do my trade now" is not hard to understand.