Ian Cohen, Non-Executive Director
No news is good news with regards to the proposed Clinical Negligence sub-£25,000 scheme.
The December minutes of the CPRC have been published (cprc-mins-6-dec-2024.pdf), and they were silent with regard to the proposed Clinical Negligence reforms, which is not surprising as the plans are very much on hold. The subsequent CPRC meeting took place on 7th February 2025, and the minutes will be published in March, but do not expect anything to change. It remains my view that there is no appetite in the current Government to adopt the proposed changes, but time will tell. We almost certainly will not see any reforms introduced in 2025.
Perhaps as a direct consequence of the threat of such reforms receding, it is clear that there is increasing confidence in the Clinical Negligence sector, as evidenced by the number of firms looking for experienced, qualified Clinical Negligence lawyers. Such confidence will also, no doubt, feed into the general consolidation that we will continue to see in the sector.
APIL UK PI Market Briefing
In January, APIL released its PI Market Briefing (apilpersonalinjurymarketbriefing.pdf). For all those involved in the PI Market, this briefing is well worth a read. The data makes for interesting reading, with the headlines being: low-value PI claims are falling, Clinical Negligence claims are increasing, and the top 20 PI law firms are slightly increasing their share of the market. The data relating to the overall size of the market is reported for 2023, and the figures show a 5.1% growth, but this compares 2022 to 2023, and we were still seeing the effects of COVID-19 play out.
The importance of Claimants being represented by specialist lawyers in Catastrophic Personal Injury cases
The critical importance of specialist representation in catastrophic PI cases was highlighted by a case reported by the Law Society Gazette (Personal injury firm secures unprecedented £27.4m settlement after rejecting £1.5m and £10m offers | Law Gazette). After concerns were raised by the Claimant’s case manager, the Claimant switched to a specialist firm that rejected offers of £1.5m and £10m before eventually settling for £27.4m.
Everyone involved in representing seriously injured Claimants has a professional as well as a moral obligation to ensure that Claimants secure an appropriate level of compensation, especially in relation to their future needs. Such cases must be dealt with by specialist lawyers who will ensure that extremely vulnerable members of our society are appropriately represented and protected.
Ian Cohen
PLG Consultants, 28th February 2025
