Medical reports: Market consolidation expected to accelerate
The value of the medico-legal market is back above £700m for the first time since 2019 amid concerns about a shrinking pool of experts, research has found.
IRN Legal Reports predicted that, although the total number of personal injury claims would continue to fall, the larger medico-legal players were “in a relatively good position to maintain growth” and would “gain the most” from the spread of AI.
It estimated that the overall value of the medico-legal market last year was £705m, an increase of 4.1% on the year before [1].
The market is expected to grow by 4.4% this year and then at between 4.5% and 5% a year until 2029. Market value peaked at £791m in 2019, before the pandemic sent it plummeting to a low of £618m in 2021, since when it has made a steady recovery.
IRN said the larger medico-legal players would maintain growth through “IT investment, some costs savings, and the development of a broader services base”.
More providers would embrace AI tools, particularly for case management processes, document reviews, medical reports and client-facing digital portals.
“AI-generated models will be used more and more for risk assessments, and predicting legal outcomes and patient outcomes. This should lead to productivity improvements but it will be the larger players that gain the most from the spread of AI.
“Market consolidation is expected to gather pace as more smaller suppliers leave the sector or become part of larger players.”
In UK Medico-Legal Services Market Report 2026 [2], researchers said the number of medical reporting organisations (MROs) registered at MedCo increased from 32 to 35 last year, the first rise for three years.
However, the number of authorised MedCo users – claimant law firms, claims management companies and insurers – fell below 1,000 to 975 at the end of June 2026. This compares with over 1,300 in 2023.
The number of active accredited medical experts on MedCo also continued to fall, to 429, from 513 in 2023.
The report said: “A potential problem moving forward is likely to be the shortage of medical experts to call on, particularly in specialist serious injury areas and mental health specialities.
“The population of medical experts is skewed towards older aged professionals – especially those who may have retired from medical practice – so not only are there shortages but shortages of younger experts that are on top of the latest medical thinking. Shortages are already creating some hold-ups in the claims process.”
The total number of personal injury claims registered at the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) declined again last year to 435,600 from almost 445,000 the year before. Claims registered decreased in all categories except employer liability claims.
Settlements recorded by the CRU also fell, in 2025-26 to 475,900 from 508,200 the previous year.
However, the total value of clinical negligence claims settled last year increased by 4.3% to £173m.
Clinical negligence claims reported to NHS Resolution increased in the year to April 2026 to 15,200 from 14,400. Claims closed fell by almost 18%, “mainly due to operational delays as a new claims system was introduced”.