Personal injury cases involving primarily minor property damage and soft tissue injuries are sometimes called MIST cases by those in the insurance industry. The term MIST is short for “Minor Impact Soft Tissue.”  If your case is considered a MIST case, there are a few different ways in which this will affect your right to compensation.

Understanding MIST Cases

Typically, a MIST case is a car accident occurring at relatively low speeds and resulting in less than $1,500 in property damage to the vehicles involved. Injuries are most often contusions, sprains, strains, and/or whiplash.

  • Contusions – When capillaries under the skin are ruptured, an accident victim ends up with discolored and painful bruises. Most contusions heal over time with no lasting damage. Some MIST cases can result still result in painful and long term damage to the muscle fibers and connective tissue under the skin.
  • Sprains – After a car accident, ligaments in the joints can stretch or tear. These sprains most often occur in the arm, wrist, knee, or ankle, resulting in pain and swelling. A brace or splint is typically used to immobilize the injured area while it heals, although victims are also advised to rest the area as much as possible by avoiding overly vigorous physical activities. Physical therapy, medication or corrective surgery may be needed to resolve these injuries. 
  • Strains – Injuries involving stretched or torn muscles or tendons are referred to as strains. These injuries are treated in a manner similar to a sprain, with braces and rest being the most common approach. However, the neck, mid-back and back are the most common location for a strain in a MIST case.  Chiropractic care, physical therapy, medication, imaging studies, and home health care are often used to address these injuries.  In some limited circumstances, surgery or special pain management care may be required.
  • Whiplash – When your neck jerks back and forth due to the impact of the car accident, whiplash can result. Also known as a cervical strain or sprain, whiplash gets its name because the motion causing the injury is similar to how you would crack a whip. Victims with whiplash may suffer from sleep disturbances, headaches, memory problems, chronic neck or back pain, and dizziness.

Compensation for Car Accident MIST Cases

The insurance company often discounts soft tissue injuries as not as serious as injuries such as broken bones.  However, in many instances the soft tissue injuries are much more difficult to treat and cure than a broken bone that is set and heals over six to eight weeks.  Soft tissue injuries can last a life time and only get worse with age.  Just because you were involved a collision which did not result in significant property damage, it does not mean you are not entitled to compensation.  If you were legitimately hurt, then you have a right to make a claim for damages.  Whether the insurance company will agree with you or not is the fight your lawyer will have to engage in to help secure compensation for you.  A MIST case can involve the following types of damages:

  • Medical expenses, such as an emergency room visit and any necessary follow up appointments.
  • Loss of wages, if you were unable to work while recovering from your injuries.
  • Pain and suffering, to reimburse you for the physical pain as well as the emotional trauma of your injuries.
  • Permanent injuries or disabilities, and their impact on your life.

Medical expenses and lost wages are called economic damages, since an exact dollar value can be calculated based on your hospital bills and pay stubs. Pain and suffering is a category of non-economic damages, since it has no readily available dollar value. Insurance companies will often try to deny damages in MIST cases because they claim that harm could not have occurred to the occupants of the vehicle when there is little property damage.  However, there are many studies that have debunked this argument, but the insurance companies continue to deny the existence of injuries from these collisions. 

The Challenge of Proving Your Case

The primary challenge associated with a MIST case is that victims are often accused of faking or exaggerating their injuries. Here are some tips to help your attorney build the strongest possible case:

  • Follow your doctor's treatment recommendations exactly and keep all of your appointments.
  • Do not return to work until you've been cleared by your doctor. 
  • Get a doctor’s note excusing your absence from work.
  • Keep a journal detailing your ongoing symptoms and efforts to get better.
  • Take photos of your injuries as they heal.
  • Do not talk to anyone other than your attorney about your case.

Letting Inland Empire Law Group Protect Your Rights

Insurance companies are often eager to save money on MIST cases by offering lowball settlements, claiming a victim is partially responsible for his injuries, or accusing the victim of exaggerating the seriousness of his condition. Having someone to advocate for your interests throughout the settlement process ensures that you'll be treated fairly and have your case resolved as soon as possible.  If a pre-trial resolution is not possible there are some lower cost alternatives we can utilize to help take case to trial.


The Inland Empire Law Group is dedicated to helping California residents who've been injured in accidents caused by negligent drivers receive the compensation they need to move forward with their lives. We cannot take all MIST cases, nor can we take all large cases.  We will evaluate your case to see how we can best serve you, an injured victim from a negligent driver.  Please call today to schedule a free, no-obligation case review at our Victorville or Rancho Cucamonga locations.