Low speed impact and soft tissue injuries: an attorney’s perspective

Back in May I was involved in an accident that an insurance company would undoubtedly call a low-speed impact, though it felt anything but low speed from my perspective in the driver’s seat. An uninsured driver – an elderly man driving an older model car – crashed into my fairly new car. My car’s bumper has a very flexible, plastic cover on it that “popped” in at impact. It popped out a bit afterwards and there are some scratches but no major damage like a caved in trunk or crumpled rear panel.

Insurance companies and their attorney or adjusters constantly belittle my client’s injuries whenever there is no significant damage done to the vehicle. They reason that that no one should have gotten hurt in the collision. Having gone through this now personally, I can tell you first-hand that even seemingly low-speed impacts can definitely cause injuries.

I didn’t need surgery, nor will I have any disabilities due to the collision, but it hurt. After the initial adrenaline rush wore off, I had a headache and a little stiffness in my neck. When I got home, I could tell something was off. As the night progressed, I began to experience pain on the left side of my neck that seemed to run down into my shoulder blade area. By the next morning, it was clear to me that I needed to see a doctor.

My primary doctor examined me the next day and recommended physical therapy if my symptoms did not abate within a few days. A few days later and the pain was getting worse. Off to physical therapy I went. That went on for about two months before I was released.

I try my best to listen to my clients and understand what they are going through – their fears, their pains, their inconveniences and the effects an accident has on their lives. I feel that having gone through this experience myself gives me a unique perspective and probably makes me a bit more empathetic toward my clients who experience back and neck pain after rear-end accidents.

If you are being jerked around by an insurance company who thinks that you are lying or could not have been hurt in an accident, I’d love to hear from you and listen to your story.