Personal injury marketing networks are reporting continuing success in their fight to seize control of the market from claims management companies - as it emerged that yet another claims farmer has gone out of business.

The collapse of the Accident Advice Group (AAG) last month came as three solicitor-run consortia announced further growth.

The UK's largest network, Injury Lawyers 4U (IL4U), closed its deadline for new panel bids at the end of last month.

Andrew Twambley, a partner at Amelans, the founding firm in Manchester, said its expansion would see funds rise by 2.5 million to almost 7 million for the next financial year, although IL4U is reducing its panel from 202 to 188.

'Our theory was that the dedicated firms would make IL4U work and would provide more funds by requesting more slots [on the rota],' he explained.

Recent figures from Nielsen Media Research show that IL4U tops the personal injury league in marketing expenditure.

It is followed by National Accident Helpline, Accident Advice Helpline, the RAC, BGR Bloomer, Personal Injury Helpline, Paul Rooney & Co Solicitors, Fentons Solicitors and Talk Legal.

Meanwhile, membership of the Personal Injury Network has soared to more than 130 firms since it was set up in March.

Brian Bluett, a partner at Caladashins in London, said it anticipated 500 members by the end of the year.

'At the beginning we were referring in the region of 20 enquiries per week, but we recently achieved more than 250 in a single week,' he added.

The Accident Link Network, established last summer by Stephens & Son, a Medway firm, has also added to its existing groupings in Kent, Surrey and Wessex.

Essex Accident Link was launched this week with eight initial members, and a similar scheme will go live in London in September.

Accident Advice Holdings, parent company to AAG, announced that the claims management company had gone into administration last month because banks and insurers got cold feet and withdrew from the market after the collapse of The Accident Group last year, refusing to extend repayment dates for liabilities already incurred.

The administrators have sold the business to other AAH subsidiaries.

Last week, the Better Regulation Task Force said in a report on litigation in the UK that solicitors had only themselves to blame for the rise of claims management companies (see [2004] Gazette, 4 June, 3).

Teresa Gorman, who chaired the group that carried out the study, said: 'Claims management companies would not have emerged with the strength they did, had lawyers been better able to market their services.'

Paula Rohan