What Causes Stiffness And Lack Of Mobility In The Neck?

i am a 52yo wf that was involved in a car accident in 1/09 when I was traveling on a freeway (35 mph due to construction) when the car ahead of me suddenly stopped, I stopped, but the car behind me hit me and shoved me forward where I hit the car ahead of me. $12,000+ damage to car, 1 year of phys therapy and second mri still showed annular tear in lower back. lawyer says annular tear is not clinically significant and won t get me any additional compensation for pain i was in still am in and will be I fear the rest of my life. I was in a similar accident in 1990 where my neck (soft tissue dammage) is still a problem and substantially limits my mobility. This accident also injured my neck and further limited my mobility. Why isn t my tear relevant to my accident case?