Personal injury mediation will gain in popularity as a result of the credit crunch, according to a leading provider.

Maurice Nichols, mediator and consultant to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution’s personal injury unit (PIU), said: ‘There are always two important drivers to personal injury litigation – the claimant wants to see an end to his case and get his compensation as quickly as possible – and solicitors’ cash flow as they are running a business.’ Today's economic climate ‘accentuates focus on both’, he said.

CEDR launched a new service – CEDR Solve PIU – which offers three channels for dealing with personal injury claims: face-to-face mediation, telephone mediation and a paper evaluation by a district judge.