The Insurance Company Says My Injuries Are Minor. What Now?

Short answer: "Minor" is where the adjuster starts negotiating. It is not a medical finding. The label usually rests on one of four arguments: the cars were barely damaged, the injury is "only soft tissue," there were gaps in your care, or the pain comes from a condition you already had. All four are arguments about evidence, so the answer is evidence too: a complete medical chart, treatment that follows a consistent course, and a provider willing to connect the injury to the crash.

Why the insurer calls it minor

Once an adjuster labels a claim minor, it gets a small offer built from a formula. Putting that label on a claim costs the adjuster nothing. Getting it taken off is hard when you are handling the claim alone, because the adjuster controls the file and you carry the burden of showing otherwise. No judge, jury or doctor has decided anything when an adjuster uses the word.

The same handful of arguments comes up in claim after claim. Once you know which one you are hearing, you know what to go and collect.

Tactic 1: "There was hardly any damage to the car"

Pictures of a scuffed bumper are the most familiar exhibit in these disputes. The theory is that a collision gentle enough to leave the car mostly intact could not have hurt the person inside it. But a bumper is built to take a hit and spring back, and the outside of a car tells you little about how the neck and back of the driver moved. The photos are evidence of what happened to the vehicle. Your chart is evidence of what happened to you.

A 2026 decision from the Utah Court of Appeals is directly on point. In Holmes v. Smith, 2026 UT App 89, the court sent a rear-end case back for a new trial after the defense's orthopedic surgeon told the jury the collision was "very low impact" based on photographs, with no showing that he had a reliable method for judging crash speed or force. The court did not ban the argument. It held that an expert who makes it has to meet Utah Rule of Evidence 702 first. We break the decision down in Holmes v. Smith and "low impact" crashes, and the property-damage argument gets its own page: low property damage, real injuries.

Tactic 2: "It's only soft tissue"

Strains, sprains and whiplash seldom appear on an X-ray, which makes them easy to dismiss. Pain that keeps you from lifting your kids, sleeping through the night or finishing a shift is still a genuine loss, whether or not an image shows it. What makes a soft-tissue injury believable is what the provider records at each visit: range of motion measured and written down, spasm noted on exam, the treatment plan, and how you responded to it. Our page on whiplash and soft-tissue claims goes deeper.

A legal line sits behind this argument too. A person covered by personal injury protection can sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if the injury meets the threshold in Utah Code 31A-22-309(1): death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, a bone fracture, or medical expenses above $3,000. Soft-tissue cases usually get over that line on medical expenses, which is part of why an adjuster would prefer your treatment end early.

Tactic 3: "You had a gap in treatment"

Several weeks without an appointment gets read as proof that you healed. The defense in Holmes built its theory around a break in care of about three months. Gaps usually have ordinary explanations: a job, childcare, money, a waitlist for physical therapy. If you have to pause, tell your provider the reason so it lands in the chart, and go back when the pain does. A gap explained at the time is much easier to answer than one explained a year later in a deposition.

Tactic 4: "That's a pre-existing condition"

Adjusters dig into your history, and an old neck complaint or an MRI showing ordinary wear in the spine will be offered as the "real" cause. A prior condition does not end the claim. The Court of Appeals noted in Holmes that Utah law lets an injured person recover when a crash aggravates an earlier condition, but the worsening has to be proven, usually through a medical opinion comparing your condition before and after. Leaving an old injury out is the worst choice. The insurer usually finds the earlier chart, and your credibility goes with it.

What to document now

• Every symptom, told to every provider, even ones that seem small: headaches, tingling, trouble sleeping.
• Each appointment you keep, and a written reason for any you miss.
• A brief weekly note of what you could not do: shifts missed, chores handed off, activities you stopped.
• Photos of both vehicles, the repair estimate, and the crash report.
• Bills, explanation-of-benefits statements, and pay records showing time off.
• Names of people who see the difference in you from day to day.

While you gather this, be careful with the other driver's insurer. You do not have to give them a recorded statement, and an early "I'm fine" tends to reappear months later. See whether to give a recorded statement.

How an attorney pushes back

Once a client signs with our firm, we handle all communication with the insurance companies, so the adjuster is responding to a documented file instead of a phone call. An attorney reviews every case at intake and approves every demand and settlement. In practice, pushing back looks like this:

• Holding the demand until treatment is complete, so it reflects the whole injury and not just the first month.
• Getting a treating provider's opinion on causation and, where it fits, on aggravation of an earlier condition.
• Meeting the property-damage point with the medical record, and questioning whether anyone calling the crash "low impact" has a reliable basis for saying so.
• Answering gaps with records rather than explanations offered after the fact.
• Putting the losses that have no billing code in front of the adjuster: missed work, activities given up, and how long it lasted.
• Filing suit when the number will not move and the evidence supports it. Most injury claims must be filed within four years under Utah Code 78B-2-307(4), and a claim involving a government entity needs a notice of claim within one year under Utah Code 63G-7-402.

None of this changes what happened to you. It changes whether the insurer has to deal with it. For the full picture of how a represented claim moves, see how Utah car accident attorneys handle insurance claims.

Common questions

Should I take the offer if the adjuster says my injury is minor?

Not until you know whether you are done treating. An offer made mid-treatment usually pays for care already received and nothing that comes after. Our post on whether to accept the first settlement offer covers how to weigh one.

Do I still have a claim if I didn't go to the emergency room?

Yes. Plenty of people are seen at urgent care or by their own doctor a day or two later. What matters is being evaluated reasonably soon and telling the provider the injury came from a car crash.

Will my PIP still pay if the other insurer says my injury is minor?

Yes. Your own personal injury protection covers at least $3,000 in medical expenses regardless of fault under Utah Code 31A-22-307. The "minor" label is aimed at the liability claim against the other driver, not your no-fault benefits. See is Utah a no-fault state.

What does it cost to have a lawyer respond?

You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fees unless we win. Our fee is one-third of the recovery, and the firm advances case costs, which are repaid from the recovery. Details are in what a personal injury lawyer costs in Utah.

What if another lawyer already told me the case is small?

Sometimes that is right and sometimes it is not. See getting a second opinion on your case.

Talk it through

If an adjuster has already called your injury minor, bring the letter or your notes from the call. Our legal team will look at what the insurer is leaning on and what your records actually show. Call (801) 921-5134 or send us your case. Free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.