Litigation down by a quarter yet court delays increase

Recently released data from His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (“HMCTS”) provides an illuminating snapshot of the personal injury market.

Data for the calendar year 2023, released on the 11 March 2024, reveals that a total of 61,272 personal injury proceedings were issued last year compared to 81,481 in 2022 — a fall of almost 25 % (24.8 %).

Despite the reduction in personal injury cases issued by the courts, it took an average of almost 7 weeks longer for a case allocated either to the Fast Track or Multi Track to reach trial in 2023 compared to the previous year. From the date of issue of proceedings to trial, the average period now stands at 86 weeks, which is almost six months more than the pre-covid base line figure in 2019.  

Commentary

The reduction in claims for personal injury issued by the courts in 2023 will be welcomed by compensators, but this data is placed into even sharper context when comparison is made with the pre-covid baseline. In 2019, over 113,000 personal injury proceedings were issued. In comparison to the current figures, this means that claims for personal injury reaching litigation has fallen by almost a half compared to 2019 (46 %).

The reasons are multifactorial, but the whiplash tariff reforms have played a significant part in reducing the volume of litigation. As for Employers and Public Liability claims, our own data analysis reveals that the overwhelming majority of litigation is commenced close to the end of the three year primary limitation period. 2023 marked three years since the first and second covid lockdowns which saw increased working from home, reduced leisure and hospitality activity, increased employer focus on safety and health, which in turn led to significant reductions in both workplace and public liability injuries and notified claims in 2020.

Previous data releases from HMCTS have cited pandemic related factors as the reason for the ever lengthening delay in Fast and Multi Track cases reaching trial. Whilst this may be a contributing factor, it must be questioned whether that the lack of judicial resource and funding are now equally relevant, given the wide geographical disparities in performance seen around England and Wales.

Although the recent extension of the Fixed Recoverable Regime means that many personal injury claims will be subject to fixed or predictable costs, for those cases which fall outside, longer claim lifecycles will generally result in increased costs.

Our further commentary will follow as the Personal Injury landscape continues to evolve.