... This means that they suffered whiplash, muscle strain, etc. No cuts, lacerations, or broken bones, etc.

For these soft tissue injuries, oftentimes the client will have only sought care from his PCP and then a modest amount of chiropractic care or physical therapy. His medical bills might be $4,000 with $500 in lost wages. This type of case is worth the $4,500 in economic damages plus a modest amount in general damages (i.e., pain and suffering, temporary diminished capacity, hardship, etc.). In total, the case is worth about $7,000 to $8,000.

What happens though is the 3rd party liability adjuster, discounts the medical bills and says they should only be $2,500, discounts the lost wages because there is no specific doctor's note releasing the client from work, then offers a scant amount for general damages. The total offer from the 3rd party liability adjuster is $4,000; less than the economic damages.

A large majority of cases are just like this. If the insurer can low ball these claims, the amount of money they save starts to stack up.

Is it worth it to me as an attorney to litigate this case over $3,000? Unfortunately, I cannot stay in business litigating these cases (though sometimes I do based on principle).

Overall, that $3,000 means much, much more to my client compared to what it means to Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, GEICO, etc.