The number of injury claims across all categories is falling sharply amid a continuing downwards trend, according to the latest data from the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU).
The latest quarterly data from the CRU, obtained following a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), shows that motor injury claims haver reduced 44% since 2018, with the 84,247 claims submitted during the latest quarter (October to December 2022) the lowest figure on record.
Similarly, claims for clinical negligence, employer’s liability and public liability also fell in 2022, as overall the number of claims dropped below half a million for a full year for the first time since CRU data was collected using the current methodology in 2010.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of ACSO, suggested multiple explanations for the decreases: “The reasons for the sharp drops in personal injury claims over recent years are several but include the impact of the government’s whiplash reforms, changing behaviours, improved health and safety in the workplace and falls in marketing spend in the sector.
“We’ve always disputed the tabloid obsession with there being a rampant ‘compensation culture,’ and after the latest set of data even its most vocal advocates might consider focusing their fire elsewhere.”