I am now retired but I did spend most of my career dealing with motor litigation for an insurer, a large proportion of my time with cases in litigation conscious Liverpool and Manchester.

Your reader HO's wife does not dispute that she ran into the back of the Ka in front which means that she starts with a disadvantage. These days many motorists will try to make a case for some compensation. The Ka driver might have been "advised" by friends or indeed her own insurers to try a claim.

Probably Solicitors have been pointed in her direction and will try and make something of very little. That said it is just possible that the impact might have been heavier than Mrs HO imagined and catching the Ka driver by surprise jerked her neck. However we are told that she did not see a doctor, maybe she thought it was not really worthwhile and did not want to make a fuss. Her Solicitors really need some medical evidence to cover themselves and to show that they are taking the case seriously.

A medical man will be able to produce a report along the lines of "she probably suffered an unexpected jolt but all the signs are that she recovered in 3 to 4 weeks. This might be worth £750 to £1,000. HO's Insurer should know what to do. They alone should be left to handle the claim and put in a defence to answer the summons. Then it is a question of settling by clever negotiation.

Unfortunately though some Insurers these days take the line of least resistance to get the case settled and off the books.