Look, I'll tell you what most lawyers won't: soft tissue injuries get dismissed as 'minor' by insurance companies the second they see them on a claim form. Sprains, strains, whiplash, herniated discs, ligament tears - the kind of injury that doesn't show up on a basic X-ray and doesn't bleed visibly. Carriers have built an entire playbook around lowballing these cases, and they win when nobody pushes back.
I'm Scott DeSalvo. Almost 30 years representing injured people in Illinois. Graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the Keenan Trial Institute. Soft tissue cases are cases I take seriously because I have watched them progress to surgery, chronic pain, and lifelong limitation more times than I can count - and I have watched the carrier walk away paying nothing when the injured person did not have a lawyer who knew how to build the case.
Soft tissue injuries are injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs, and other connective tissue. They include cervical and lumbar sprains and strains, whiplash from rear-end collisions, herniated and bulging discs, rotator cuff tears, meniscus tears, ligament and tendon tears, chronic myofascial pain, and post-traumatic fibromyalgia. The fact that they don't show on an X-ray doesn't mean they aren't real - they're diagnosed by MRI, physical examination, treating-physician clinical opinion, and the patient's documented response to treatment.
The carrier playbook is predictable. They argue the injury is minor because the property damage was small (the MIST defense - Minor Impact Soft Tissue). They point to gaps in treatment to argue you must not really be hurt. They send you to a defense IME doctor who minimizes your symptoms. They blame everything on pre-existing conditions. They run out the clock until your two-year statute of limitations gets close.
Every one of those tactics is defeatable. The MIST defense is built on insurance-industry-funded delta-V studies that peer-reviewed independent medical literature contradicts - low-speed impacts cause real cervical and lumbar injuries every day. Gaps in treatment get explained when they exist. Defense IME opinions get challenged on cross-examination. Pre-existing condition arguments lose under Illinois' eggshell plaintiff doctrine - a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them.
It depends on how the injury happened. Motor vehicle cases: the at-fault driver, the driver's employer when on the job (respondeat superior), and commercial motor carriers under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR Parts 390-399). Workplace cases: third-party defendants beyond the employer (equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, premises owners), with the workers' comp carrier asserting a lien on the third-party recovery under 820 ILCS 305/5(b). Premises and slip and fall cases: the property owner and any maintenance or snow removal contractor. Medical malpractice cases involving soft tissue injuries from surgery or treatment: the providers and the hospital, with the Certificate of Merit required under 735 ILCS 5/2-622.
Past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity when the injury affects what you can do at work, pain and suffering, loss of normal life, and disfigurement. In drunk-driving and other cases of willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may be available. Illinois has no statutory cap on medical malpractice damages following Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (2010). When the at-fault driver is uninsured or under-policied, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under 215 ILCS 5/143a-2 picks up the gap.
Illinois follows modified comparative negligence under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116. If you are 50% or less at fault, you can recover, with damages reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. Carriers routinely try to inflate the percentage assigned to you - we push back with the police report, witness statements, surveillance video, and accident reconstruction when needed.
Two years from the date of the accident under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 for standard personal injury. Government defendant cases (city, county, CTA) require one-year notice under 745 ILCS 10/8-101. Workers' compensation has separate deadlines - 45 days for employer notice under 820 ILCS 305/6(c) and three years for IWCC filing under 820 ILCS 305/6(d). Medical malpractice cases use a two-year discovery rule with a four-year statute of repose under 735 ILCS 5/13-212. Missing the deadline ends the case regardless of how strong it is.
Nothing upfront. I work on contingency. I advance all case costs - medical records, expert witnesses, court filing fees, depositions. If we don't recover, you owe me nothing. The fee comes out of the recovery, not your pocket. Standard personal injury contingency is one-third pre-trial, 40% if the case goes to trial. Workers' comp portions are capped by statute at 20% under 820 ILCS 305/16a.
Soft tissue injuries involve muscles, tendons, ligaments, and discs - sprains, strains, whiplash, rotator cuff tears, herniated and bulging discs, ligament tears, and chronic myofascial pain. They are absolutely compensable under Illinois personal injury law. The fact that they don't show on a simple X-ray doesn't mean they aren't real - MRIs, treating-physician testimony, and detailed pain documentation prove them.
Because they assume injured people won't fight back. The carrier's playbook on soft tissue cases: argue the injury is minor, point to gaps in treatment, blame pre-existing conditions, send the claimant to a defense IME doctor who will minimize symptoms, and run out the clock until the two-year statute of limitations gets close. Aggressive treating-physician documentation, proper case-building, and a lawyer willing to file suit are what move the offer.
Yes - frequently. Whiplash can progress to chronic cervical pain. Lumbar strains can develop into herniated discs requiring injections or surgery. Rotator cuff tears that look minor on initial exam can require surgical repair. Soft tissue injuries that don't heal within several months often become permanent conditions requiring lifelong pain management. We document the progression in real time so the case captures the full long-term cost.
Treating-physician records (showing diagnosis, mechanism of injury, and ongoing limitations), MRI or other imaging when ordered, consistent and documented treatment with no significant gaps, a clear causal opinion from the treating physician connecting the injury to the accident, evidence of how the injury affects work and daily activities, and your honest testimony about pain and function. Defense IME reports get challenged at deposition and trial.
You can still recover. Illinois follows the eggshell plaintiff doctrine - a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If the accident aggravated or accelerated a pre-existing condition, the aggravation is fully compensable. The defense will point to old medical records to argue everything is pre-existing - we defeat that with a treating physician's causation opinion and before-and-after function evidence.
Illinois follows modified comparative negligence under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116. If you are 50% or less at fault, you can recover, with damages reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. Carriers routinely try to inflate the percentage assigned to you - we push back with the police report, witness statements, video, and accident reconstruction when needed.
Two years from the date of the accident under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Shorter for cases against government defendants - one year notice under 745 ILCS 10/8-101. Missing the deadline ends the case regardless of how strong it is. Don't wait until close to the deadline - building a soft tissue case takes documentation time and the carrier will stall until you are out of time if they can.
Nothing upfront. I work on contingency — I only get paid if we win. I advance all case costs (medical records, expert witnesses, court filing fees, depositions). If we don't recover, you owe me nothing. Free consultation 24/7 in English or Spanish. Call 312-500-4500.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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