Trends in liability claims litigation: Sedgwick

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Many of the legal challenges from the past few years persist, according to Sedgwick, a provider of claims management, loss adjusting and business solutions, which released a report analyzing the trends in liability claims litigation. 

Industry data indicates a continued rise in liability litigation and the average cost of new litigated auto bodily injury claims has grown by 64% since 2019, according to Liability Litigation Observations and trends 2024.

New claim litigation in 2023 increased to 1.7% for general liability bodily injury claims (GL BI), a slight increase from the year before. The report suggests that litigation rates would have likely decreased at a national level if not for the increased filings in Florida, related to House Bill 837. 

Steve Ellis, VP, Liability Practice at Sedgwick, said in a statement: “From a litigation management perspective, the best avoidance and mitigation strategies start on day one of a claim assignment with the completion of a high-quality investigation. The first two weeks after a claim is initiated represent a window of opportunity to impact the outcome by making timely contacts, taking detailed statements, and assessing damage and injuries as quickly as possible.”

Attorney representation rates for GL BI claims increased from 14.1% in 2022 to 17.2% in 2023. And for auto liability body injury claims they increased from 45.7% to 47.7%, according to the report. New York continues to have the highest litigation rate. 

Most people in the U.S. believe that attorney advertising increases the number of liability claims and lawsuits, according to a survey by the Insurance Research Council, a division of the Institutes, from 2022.

The cost of claims, both litigated and non-litigated, is going up and social inflation is a driver, according to the report.