8 Reasons Soft Tissue Injuries Get Undervalued

Soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and whiplash cause real pain and functional limitations but consistently receive lower settlement offers than other injury types. Insurance companies systematically undervalue these injuries despite their significant impact on victims’ lives.

Our friends at Hurwitz, Whitcher & Molloy discuss how strategic presentation and comprehensive documentation overcome insurance company bias against these legitimate injuries. A personal injury lawyer knows how to prove soft tissue injury severity and fight for fair compensation despite insurance company tactics designed to minimize these claims.

These eight reasons explain why soft tissue injuries get undervalued and how to counter this unfair treatment.

1. They Don’t Show Up Clearly on X-Rays or CT Scans

Soft tissue injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments don’t appear on standard X-rays or CT scans the way fractures and dislocations do. This lack of dramatic imaging gives insurance companies arguments that injuries aren’t objectively verifiable.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, soft tissue injuries require specialized imaging like MRI to visualize damage that standard films don’t reveal.

We obtain MRI scans showing soft tissue damage that standard imaging misses, providing objective evidence of injury severity.

2. Insurance Companies Claim They’re Easy to Fake

Adjusters routinely argue that soft tissue injuries are subjective complaints easy to exaggerate or fabricate. They suggest victims claim more pain than they actually experience to inflate settlement values.

This skepticism means insurance companies offer substantially less for soft tissue injuries than for “objective” injuries like fractures despite comparable pain and functional limitations.

3. Symptoms Can’t Be Measured Objectively

Unlike fractures measured by bone displacement or lacerations measured by wound length, soft tissue injury severity relies heavily on patient-reported pain levels and functional limitations.

Insurance companies exploit this subjectivity by claiming you’re overstating symptoms or that pain should have resolved by now based on their own timelines rather than your actual recovery.

4. Computer Programs Assign Low Values to Soft Tissue Claims

Many insurance companies use computer programs like Colossus that systematically undervalue soft tissue injuries by assigning them to lower settlement tiers than other injury types.

These programs don’t account for individual case circumstances and instead apply formulas that treat all soft tissue injuries as minor regardless of actual severity or impact.

5. Recovery Timelines Vary Significantly

Some soft tissue injuries heal within weeks while others cause chronic pain lasting months or years. This variability gives insurance companies arguments that your extended symptoms aren’t normal and must result from other causes.

They compare your recovery to ideal timelines rather than accepting that many soft tissue injuries cause long-term problems requiring extended treatment.

6. Delayed Symptom Onset Creates Causation Disputes

Soft tissue injuries like whiplash often don’t cause immediate severe pain. Symptoms sometimes develop hours or days after accidents, giving insurance companies arguments that something else caused your injuries.

This delayed onset, which is medically normal for many soft tissue injuries, gets used against you to question whether accidents caused your symptoms.

7. Prior Injuries or Degenerative Changes Provide Defense Arguments

Insurance companies review medical histories looking for any prior soft tissue problems or age-related degenerative changes they can blame for current symptoms.

They argue that accidents merely aggravated pre-existing conditions rather than causing new injuries, using this to justify reduced settlements.

8. Juries Sometimes Discount Soft Tissue Injury Claims

Insurance companies know juries can be skeptical of soft tissue injuries without dramatic imaging or visible trauma. This jury skepticism reduces trial values, allowing insurers to offer lower settlements.

Defense attorneys exploit jury bias by emphasizing lack of broken bones or dramatic injuries, suggesting soft tissue complaints don’t warrant substantial compensation.

Overcoming Soft Tissue Injury Bias

Despite insurance company bias, soft tissue injuries deserve fair compensation. Overcoming undervaluation requires comprehensive medical documentation through MRI scans showing tissue damage, consistent treatment without gaps, detailed pain journals documenting daily impacts, and functional capacity evaluations proving limitations.

Professional medical testimony explaining soft tissue injury severity and typical recovery timelines counters insurance arguments about normal healing.

Proving Soft Tissue Injury Severity

We prove soft tissue injury severity through objective medical evidence including specialized imaging, professional testimony about tissue damage, documentation of consistent symptoms, and evidence of functional limitations affecting work and daily activities.

Comprehensive presentation of this evidence forces insurance companies to value soft tissue injuries fairly rather than applying discriminatory low-value formulas.

Building Strong Soft Tissue Cases

Soft tissue injury cases require more strategic development than fracture cases because insurance companies fight them harder. Early comprehensive documentation, consistent treatment, and professional medical support create strong cases that overcome insurance bias.

We know how to present soft tissue injuries persuasively, countering standard insurance defenses and proving your injuries deserve substantial compensation despite their classification.

Fighting for Fair Compensation

Soft tissue injuries like severe whiplash, torn ligaments, or chronic muscle damage cause pain and limitations justifying substantial compensation. Insurance company undervaluation doesn’t reflect actual injury severity but rather systematic bias against these legitimate injuries.

The difference between accepting insurance company low offers for soft tissue injuries and properly proving their severity often amounts to tens of thousands of dollars for identical injuries.

Don’t accept insurance company claims that soft tissue injuries aren’t worth much. With proper documentation and presentation, these cases achieve fair settlements reflecting actual pain, treatment costs, and functional impacts.

Protecting Your Soft Tissue Injury Claim

Soft tissue injuries require strategic handling from the beginning. Get immediate medical evaluation including specialized imaging when appropriate, maintain consistent treatment without gaps, document daily impacts thoroughly, and avoid statements minimizing your pain or limitations.

Insurance companies exploit any weakness in soft tissue injury cases because they’re predisposed to undervalue these claims regardless of actual severity.

Contact an experienced attorney who understands how to overcome soft tissue injury bias, knows what medical evidence proves these injuries effectively, has relationships with professionals who testify about soft tissue damage, and will fight for fair compensation that reflects your actual injuries rather than accepting insurance company systematic undervaluation of legitimate soft tissue injuries that cause real pain, require substantial treatment, and deserve compensation reflecting their true impact on your life.