4 April 2025

Stephen Winn, Associate Solicitor in the Clinical Negligence Department takes a look at recent statistics in personal injury and clinical negligence. 

APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) recently produced an insight of recent marketing information on how the landscape has changed in terms of personal injury (PI) and clinical negligence (CN) claims. They looked at the marketing trends in this area of law, and how things have changed since their previous reviews.

Some interesting information from this latest research includes the following:

• 1 in 5 adults in the UK said they had been injured or became ill due to someone else’s negligence, but 41% of them said they had not sought compensation as a result
• The total claims registered fell by 1.5% in 2023/2024 compared to the year before
• Clinical Negligence claims were up from the year previous by 9.7%
• The top 20 law firms dealing with claims against the NHS account for over 50% of all the claims in terms of costs

One of the questions posed was how clients found solicitors when looking for firms to deal with any claims for compensation.

• 22% of clients used online adverts ( i.e. Google adverts) or social media (a slight increase on the previous year)
• 13% of clients were repeat users of the same solicitors (up from the year before)
• 14% of clients referred to adverts on TV/radio (also an increase)
• Only 6% used printed adverts for enquiries (down from the year before)

Anticipated changes to the way of working in this field of law because of the following:

• Potential growth in the PI and CN markets is likely to be limited over the coming years because of issues such as fixed costs
• Fixed costs are likely to weaken margins and may impact on access to justice
• Mergers and acquisitions will continue with larger firms buying smaller firms to create a larger market share of claims
• Firms are likely to make greater use of AI to streamline the work processes
• Effective marketing, which clearly shows how lawyers can address injured people’s wants, needs and concerns may help attract new business

Patient safety appears to have deteriorated in recent years and NHS England data shows an increase in safety incidents resulting in harm by 30% which could lead to more enquiries.

Greater publicity around NHS scandals could increase enquiries generated.

When asked what things would make the claim process easier and more likely to be considered, the response in order of importance was:

1. Clearly explaining how much it would cost
2. Support to make the process as stress free as possible
3. Explaining the amount of compensation likely to be received
4. Assurances claims will be resolved quickly
5. How help would be provided to recover from the injury
6. How it could help obtain justice for the harm caused
7. The ability to demonstrate experience and professionalism
8. Dealing with matters in a caring and compassionate way

Here at True Solicitors, we are on your side and can simply and clearly explain the process of a claim, how “no win, no fee” works, the timescales involved, the likely level of compensation, and hopefully make the process as stress-free as possible. We aim to do this in a caring but professional way and keep you updated every step of the way.

If you would like to discuss a potential claim, you can contact our friendly team on 0344 854 7000.