Accidents happen. Often, they cannot be avoided, as hard as we try. The Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) found that accidents suffered at home (the most common form of accident in the country) are the cause of around 6000 deaths each year – and that home accidents overall cost the UK a staggering £45 billion annually.
But these statistics do not cover the commonality and severity of accidents beyond the relative comforts of home. Personal injuries, suffered in public or at work and as no fault of one’s own – describe a key majority of accidents suffered across the nation, to say nothing of the money wrapped up in the litigation of such incidents. Personal injury claims are the in-road to understanding the commonality of such incidents, as well as the potential recourse that many victims could access. With this in mind, how common are personal injury claims in the UK?
The Statistics
One of the main data sets through which this question can be approximately answered is that which is provided via the Department of Work and Pension’s transparency commitments. The DWP publishes performance data relating to the Compensation Recovery Unit, a government arm which recovers the cost of state benefits received by victims of personal injury in the event of successful personal injury claims against a given individual or organisation.
The CRU collects data on the volume of cases registered to it according to different facets of society and forms of injury, as well as the total value of all cases within each bracket. According to its performance data in the 2022-23 tax year, 484,330 cases were registered overall – the majority of which were related to motor or road accidents. Over 500,000 settlements were also recorded by the CRU, around 400,000 or which were linked to motor incidents. Of these settlements, just over 57,000 were linked to employers, and just over 57,000 related to public injuries or incidents.
Personal Injury and Accessibility
This only answers the question of how many claims are lodged, though. It is also important to recognise the many barriers to recompense or justice that individuals may face after an accident. For some, the costs associated with seeking civil recourse are too great, even in instances where solicitors are willing to take a case on a no-win no-fee basis. The mental strife required to revisit the incident and compile evidence, coupled with the time investments necessary to make important hearings or appointments, can rule justice out for an unfortunate minority.
Outcomes for Claimants
Still, though, where accessibility to personal injury recourse is improved, so too are outcomes for injured parties. The CRU statistics indicate that over £128 million was recovered from personal injury cases in 2022-23 alone, describing the sheer breadth of financial care that many are lucky enough to receive after such an unlucky incident.
