CRU Reports Year-on-Year Rise in Claimants Seeking Justice

CRU compensation data chart

The Government’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) has published data for last year that reveals an increase in claimants seeking compensation for their injuries. Claims for accidents in public and at work are rising, as are medical negligence claims.

Although the CRU’s data does not include all compensation claims made in the UK, it provides a useful indicator of the rise or decline in different types of injury claims.

How is the CRU’s data gathered?

The CRU records claims where the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) must recover certain state benefits and NHS costs from compensation payouts. The benefits that the DWP recovers from a claimant’s compensation includes Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payments (PIP), and ESA.

If claimant hasn’t claimed any relevant benefits or NHS costs during their recovery, their claim will not be included in the CRU’s data.

Work accident claims rise year-on-year

Work accident claims reported to the CRU rose slightly from 44,296 to 45,497. This slight increase suggests that more workers are seeking compensation for their injuries, and is consistent with the Health and Safety Executive’s own finding that self-reported injuries have risen in the same period, slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels after a sharp drop in 2019/20.

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Work accident injury claims

Claims for accidents in public increase

There was a notable rise in accidents in public (including public liability and occupiers’ liability claims) from 57,372 in 2023 to 65,950. This follows a similar rise in the previous year. This trend represents both claimants’ better understanding of their right to compensation following an accident in public, but also solicitors’ increasing willingness to take on these claims.

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Public place accident claims

Medical negligence claims rise

Claims for medical errors and other clinical negligence rose from 14,918 in 2023 to 16,540 in 2024. This increase is consistent with NHS Resolution’s report of a rise in compensation payouts for the same period, from £2.64 billion to £2.8 billion.

Fortunately for claimants, NHS Resolution’s own data confirms that more claimants are successfully resolved without litigation, meaning faster and less-stressful outcomes for injured patients.

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Medical negligence claims

Road accident claims continue to decline

CRU data found that 2024 was the lowest year since 2018 for road accident injury claims, with the number of claims dropping by almost 50%, from 667,377 in 2018 to 352,230.

Commenting on the decline in road accident claims, the executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), Matthew Maxwell Scott, said “The government and insurers have worked hard, through a mix of public policy and public relations, to make it increasingly difficult for injured people to get redress, despite continuing historic highs for the cost of motor insurance.”

Considering the rise in other claim types, the decline in road accidents is much steeper than the decline in road accidents reported by the Department for Transport (DfT) for the same period. This suggests that injured road users are not getting the support and legal representation they need.

If you have been injured in a road accident and are unsure if you have a right to claim compensation, check if you are eligible online with our injury compensation calculator.

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Road accident claims

What does this mean for claimants?

These trends do not affect your right to claim compensation for your injuries, however they were caused. A general rise in claimants seeking compensation for their injuries suggests more people are aware of their legal rights following an accident, and are getting professional advice.

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you can find out in minutes if you have a claim. Call 0800 376 1001 or arrange a callback.

Chris Salmon, Director

Author:
Chris Salmon, Director