Most personal injury claims involve "soft tissue injuries," which can be difficult to prove. It's important to document these injuries for insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits.

The vast majority of personal injury claims fortunately do not involve broken bones or surgeries. Most injury claims involve connective tissue injuries. (Insurance companies like to call these "soft tissue injuries" because it makes it sound like they're not that serious or all that painful.) Connective tissue injuries like sprains and strains are a big part of most personal injury cases. These kinds of injuries—from so-called "whiplash" to more significant kinds of tissue damage like muscle tears and nerve damage—can be difficult to prove. And because it's easy to suggest that a plaintiff is exaggerating, it's important to do everything possible to document and substantiate a connective tissue injury for an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

INSURANCE COMPANIES' VIEW ON CONNECTIVE TISSUE INJURIES. Establishing a connective tissue injury through documented medical diagnosis is important for insurance claims and lawsuits. Most insurance companies are skeptical of connective tissue injury claims, and they usually have firm dollar figure ranges they are willing to pay in order to settle a claim that's based solely on connective tissue injuries. If a claimant demands more, the insurance company will refuse to settle. In some states and under some procedures, if the plaintiff wins a personal injury lawsuit after a trial, but wins less than what the insurance company offered in a documented settlement offer, the insurance company may be able to get reimbursement from the plaintiff for its litigation costs and attorneys fees. So consider every settlement offer carefully.

THE CHALLENGE OF PROVING CONNECTIVE TISSUE INJURIES. Connective tissue injuries typically do not show up with objective diagnostic tools the same way other traumatic injuries do (a broken bone on an x-ray, for example). This does not mean whiplash-type injuries, muscle tears, sprains/strains, nerve damage, and deep muscle bruises are not painful and detrimental to a plaintiff’s lifestyle, however. But it does mean that, without hard-to-refute proof like an x-ray of a broken bone, insurance companies and defense attorneys can make a variety of arguments as to why you're not as injured as you claim to be. This is why, after any kind of collision, it's crucial to get prompt and thorough medical treatment for even the slightest indication of injury. Not only can a health care professional help aid your recovery, but a doctor’s medical records will serve as stronger proof of an injury than you simply asking that your claims of injury be believed.

GETTING FAIR COMPENSATION FOR CONNECTIVE TISSUE INJURIES. As discussed above, your best strategy for getting a fair settlement for connective tissue injuries is thorough documentation of the injury of your symptoms, and a detailed course of treatment. What will also help is proof that the collision happened in a particular way, as well as testimony or other evidence that your connective tissue injury is typical for the kind of collision you were involved in.

In a case with potentially high damages, you may need to hire an expert witness to testify about how the collision probably caused your injuries. In a smaller case, simply providing relatively convincing proof of the type of collision may be sufficient. In that instance, an insurance company is likely to already know that claims of connective tissue injuries are typical for the type of collision, and if you also provide medical records, that may lead the insurance company to offer a fair settlement.

If no insurance policy applies to the underlying incident (in a civil assault and battery case, for example), the same kind of documentation and proof should convince a defense attorney to offer a similar settlement. However, because the defendant will be paying out of pocket, and there may be fewer prior similar cases on which to base a settlement, settling may be less straightforward than it would be when an insurance company is involved.

If the insurance company (or the at-fault party) isn't taking your connective tissue injury claim seriously enough, or if you're running into obstacles to a fair settlement, it's probably time to get an experienced lawyer on your side. If you, a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker have been injured in an auto collision and need legal advice, give us a call at 253.858.5434 to set up an appointment for a free consultation today.