Personal Injury Claims Fall 20%

In an article featured in today’s Law Society Gazette it was revealed that personal injury claims have fallen by 20%. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed this is the smallest number recorded since 2011 and was 20% below the same period last year.

The Ministry of Justice attributed the decrease to a change in the costs rules regarding holiday illness claims as well as changes regarding road traffic accidents injuries.

The Gazette reports that these figures are consistent with other evidence which indicates personal injury claims are falling and that this is before the government’s upcoming further reforms are brought into place.

I have blogged previously about the government’s upcoming reforms to road traffic accident cases and the potential ramifications upon access to justice.

Much of the insurance industry’s rationale behind pressing for the reforms has been the supposed need to halt an alleged ever-increasing rise in personal injury claims. The data featured in the Gazette clearly contradicts this rationale however as it can be seen that the number of claims is falling year upon year and it is now at its lowest since 2011.

Many legal commentators have been critical of the Government for not allowing sufficient time to assess the impacts of the numerous reforms to the sector that have taken place since 2012 before pressing towards ever-greater reform.  This data clearly shows that the Government’s intention of reducing the number of personal injury claims is already being met by the current reforms and as such one is left to question the urgency of introducing yet further reform.

Aston Knight Solicitors Bury are a specialist personal injury practice with a particular focus on serious injury cases.  If you would like to know more please feel free to contact us at either info@astonknightsolicitors.co.uk or by telephoning on 0800 999 6661.  We are always happy to provide a free initial consultation and no-win-no-fee agreements.