People go for whatever they can nowadays. I had a very small bump a cpl of years ago, my fault, less than 5 mph, bumper to bumper and no dmg to my car, scuffs to bumper and cracked no.plate to theirs. All ok at the scene but a week or two later I was getting bills for hire cars, garage wanted to do £2000(!!) worth of repairs and she claimed neck/back injuries. My insurance felt they werent playing fair and contested claims and I never heard anything more about it, premium didnt even increase much so ppl just chance a bit of extra cash.
Ironically the same driver nearly hit me a month later but I managed to stand on the brakes and no accident although I was fuming once I realised who it was :D