Rear-End Collisions

A rear-end collision looks like the easiest case in personal injury law. The other driver hit you from behind; everyone from the responding officer to the adjuster assumes the rear driver was following too closely. And that is exactly why these cases are harder than they look: because liability is rarely worth fighting about, the insurance company puts its entire fight somewhere else — your injuries.

The fight is causation, not fault

The carrier's playbook in a rear-end case is consistent. The impact was minor. The photos show a bumper, not an injury. The emergency room found nothing broken. The MRI was normal. You had a sore neck before. Whatever pain you have now must be degeneration, age, or exaggeration. Every one of those arguments is aimed at the same target: the causal link between the crash and what your life looks like afterward.

Answering it takes a record, not adjectives — consistent treatment from the first week, physicians who document mechanism and progression, neuropsychological or vestibular testing where the injury is a concussion, and honest witnesses to the before-and-after.

Medical bills do not set the value of your case

$750,000 — our client was rear-ended by a commercial van and left with a permanent post-concussion injury, on under $34,000 in medical bills. The carrier's math said this was a five-figure case. The evidence about what the injury took from our client's work and life said otherwise. If an adjuster is quoting you a “multiplier” of your bills, you are hearing the price of settling cheap, not the value of your claim.

$350,000 — a rear-end collision causing a neurological injury with normal brain imaging throughout. See why a normal MRI does not end a concussion claim.

Even here, contributory negligence lurks

In D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, any fault on your part can bar recovery entirely. In rear-end cases carriers reach for sudden-stop and brake-check theories, or non-functioning brake lights. They rarely win — but they are one more reason not to give a recorded statement before you have counsel.

Call (202) 524-0123 for a free consultation.