Is the Personal Injury Claims Market Turning a Corner?
After years of reform, uncertainty, and falling claims, the UK personal injury (PI) market may finally be stabilising. Recent analysis by LegalFutures.co.uk (June 2025) suggests that despite record-low claim volumes, the sector is showing signs of consolidation and modest growth, particularly among firms that specialise in complex injury cases.
Why Record Lows PI Claim Cases Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Data from the Ministry of Justice confirms that personal injury claims decreased to 106,113 in Q1 2025, representing a 16% year-on-year decline. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) injury claims, in particular, fell to 74,211, their lowest level since records began.
These figures are striking; however, they only reveal part of the picture. As the market contracts, the surviving companies are adjusting by prioritising resilience, diversification, and high-value injury cases.
Personal Injury Market Consolidation
The first half of 2025 has seen continued consolidation across the PI sector:
• Smaller firms are leaving the low-value RTA space due to fixed fees and declining margins.
• Larger and mid-sized firms are merging, acquiring caseloads, and investing in tech-led process improvements.
• Boutique and specialist practices are doubling down on serious injury and clinical negligence work.
As Legal Futures reports, IRN Research’s latest data indicate that “the market is smaller, but the remaining players are stronger” (Legal Futures, June 2025).
Complex Injury Claims
Law firms and their medical reporting partners are shifting their focus from low-margin, high-volume work to claims where expert input provides real value. Areas of growth include:
• Serious and catastrophic injuries
• Delayed diagnosis and surgical negligence
• Industrial disease claims
• Military-related conditions, such as noise-induced hearing loss
These types of claims require high-quality medico-legal reports and a solid evidentiary foundation, underscoring the growing importance of trusted expert witnesses.
How the PI Market May Change Going Forward
The UK PI market is forecast to grow by 4.5% in 2025, reaching £4.59 billion, according to IRN Research (LegalFutures, June 2025). This follows several years of contraction and represents the first meaningful increase in market value since the onset of significant reforms.
Focus on High-Value Work
IRN also projects continued expansion in clinical negligence and serious injury cases, as firms diversify into areas less affected by fixed recoverable costs.
Technology as an Enabler
Larger firms are investing in digital tools to reduce admin burden while preserving expert-led, quality-driven services, a crucial strategy in an evolving market.
How UKExpertMedical Can Support You
Our specialist team at UKExpertMedical is responding to this shift by focusing on some of the key areas below:
• High-quality, defensible medico-legal reporting for solicitors and legal experts to ground their cases on.
• Fast, reliable access to a wide network of clinical experts. Our in-house clinical experts directory allows us to connect you to the nearest medical expert to you.
• Support for complex and multi-disciplinary claims