Soft-tissue injuries account for a majority of the bodily injury claims generated by auto accidents. This is especially the case in bodily injury claims in urban areas. Soft-tissue injuries cannot be detected by X-rays or MRI scans and are diagnosed solely on the basis of the symptoms reported by the injured person.

The most common soft-tissue injury claimed by auto accident victims is chronic whiplash. A whiplash injury is defined as “an injury to the cervical spine resulting from acceleration and hyperextension of the head during a motor vehicle accident.” The diagnosis of whiplash is made primarily on the basis of subjectively reported symptoms, such as neck pain, headache, back pain, concentration, and memory difficulties, and the absence of similar pre-existing complaints. Ten years ago, it was estimated that more than $29 billion was spent annually in the United States on whiplash injuries and litigation. Today, that amount is undoubtedly higher.

A study conducted in Lithuania attempted to determine whether chronic whiplash was a medical event or simply a reflection of the compensation system. (Lithuania was chosen because, at the time of the study, there was no financial incentive for Lithuanians to claim chronic injuries; because few automobile drivers were covered by personal-injury insurance, most medical bills were paid by the government and lawsuits were rare.) The study compared injury complaints reported by 202 individuals from Kaunas, Lithuania, who had experienced rear-end collisions with injury complaints reported by a control group of 202 individuals from the same region, who had not been involved in an automobile collision.