Being struck from behind is common around metro Atlanta. Look around — few drivers leave the old recommended cushion of one car length for every 10 mph of speed. Following too closely cuts the time you have to react to brake lights and stop in time. With that risk everywhere, it's smart to have personal injury attorneys you trust.
Just Been Hit From Behind — What Now?
You feel a "thump," your car jerks a little, and so does your neck. You pull over, look at the minimal damage — maybe a dent or a crease — and rub your neck. The police arrive, ask if you're hurt or want an ambulance, and you say no. You exchange information, get the incident number, and go on with your day.
That night you take a couple of Motrin because your neck is sore. But in the morning, your neck is killing you — you can barely turn your head, and the pain radiates into your back, shoulders, even your arms. This is what we call a MIST case ("minor impact, soft tissue") — the most common kind of claim from a car collision, and also the most difficult to pursue successfully.
The Research Is Murky — but the Injuries Are Real
Historically, research on low-speed rear-impact collisions hasn't been conducted with standard, well-documented methods — and much of it was funded by car and insurance companies, on terms friendly to minimizing claims. But doctors and chiropractors have treated these soft-tissue injuries for decades, and the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5th ed.) lists whole-person impairments for soft-tissue injuries — verifying the potential for significant, and even permanent, harm from low-speed crashes.
The simplest way to describe how injury results from a low-speed rear-impact crash is the change in the vehicle's velocity over the duration of the impact. But that's only one factor — a proper evaluation also considers the mass of the vehicles, the stopping distance across the crash, the type of restraints used (always wear your three-point belt!), occupant age and gender, any pre-existing soft-tissue vulnerability, and body position at impact. Most jurors readily accept injury when property damage is severe — convincing them of the same when only a dent shows is another matter entirely.
More People Are Injured in Low-Speed Crashes Than You'd Think
One of the most common defenses you'll hear is: "You couldn't have been hurt if you didn't go to the ER by ambulance." But most people who aren't thinking about a future claim simply go home if they aren't bleeding and nothing's broken, hoping to feel better tomorrow.
Studies show it's not unusual for injuries from rear crashes — especially soft-tissue neck injuries — to go unnoticed until hours or days later, often without any external or radiological evidence.[3] Strikingly, despite improved safety standards recommended by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), occupants in no-damage crashes suffer almost double the injuries of those in crashes that totally destroyed the vehicle. One study found that when there was only slight damage — to the bumper or a third or less of the car — occupants had significantly more injuries than when the vehicle was totaled.[4]