6 Jan 2026
What’s to come for Speed Medical in 2026?
As the medico legal landscape continues to evolve, 2026 represents a significant and exciting year ahead for Speed Medical, one that builds on decades of experience while setting a clear direction for growth, expertise and innovation across the sector.
For solicitors, insurers and claims professionals, the demands placed on medical evidence have never been greater, what with courts expecting clarity, independence and clinical rigour, and with rehabilitation pathways increasingly recognised as central to recovery rather than an afterthought. As such, this means that organisations supporting this process must continually adapt, invest and lead by example.
Because of this, the heart of our 2026 plans here at Speed Medical is a strengthened senior leadership team which brings together a diverse range of experience across supply, operations, rehabilitation and strategic growth, and are who all aligned around a shared objective to raise standards, improve outcomes and support the evolving needs of the medico legal market.
It’s an exciting time within Speed Medical right now, and with our new experts in place, 2026 is set to be a truly incredible year.
Here’s what you can expect:
We’re strengthening our leadership across the business
A key focus for the year ahead is the continued development of our leadership capability, with several senior appointments now shaping the direction of the organisation and reinforcing its commitment to quality, efficiency and innovation.
For example, Leanne Smith, Head of Supply, plays a pivotal role in overseeing and developing our extensive panel of medical experts and ensuring that capacity, coverage and specialism remain aligned with the increasingly complex demands of modern claims.
With a deep understanding of expert performance, compliance and service delivery, Leanne recently celebrated 10 years with handl Group, and her role is central to maintaining the high standards expected by instructing parties while supporting experts to operate effectively within the medico legal framework.
Next up, we have Rebecca Hall, Head of Rehabilitation Treatment and Diagnostics, who leads the expansion and evolution of our rehabilitation offering and recognises that early intervention, appropriate diagnostics and coordinated treatment pathways are critical not only to claimant recovery but also to proportionality and cost control within claims.
With more than 15 years of experience in the medico legal rehabilitation sector, Rebecca brings a wealth of knowledge, a collaborative leadership style and a genuine passion for delivering high-quality rehabilitation services, and as rehabilitation continues to take on greater prominence across both personal injury and clinical negligence, her function will be key to ensuring that Speed Medical delivers joined up, outcome focused solutions that support all parties involved.
As well as this, operational excellence will remain a cornerstone of our service delivery into 2026, and under the leadership of Gareth Jones as Head of Operations, the new year will see continued focus on efficiency, scalability and consistency across every stage of the case lifecycle.
From instruction and report delivery, through to review and treatment coordination, operational strength underpins the ability to deliver timely, reliable and high quality outcomes, even as volumes and complexity increase, and Gareth brings with him several years’ experience in working with large UK legal and insurance providers to arrange industry leading treatments and solutions with a patient first approach.
Supporting this further is Richard Neve, Growth and Strategy Director, who recently joined the team with almost 20 years of prior experience and whose role is focused on shaping our long term direction, identifying opportunities for innovation and ensuring that the business continues to evolve in line with market needs.
Together, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, data driven insight and sustainable growth, this strategic leadership team will join forces throughout 2026 to ensure that the entire Speed Medical operation remains responsive, relevant and forward thinking in a competitive and highly regulated environment.
We’re expanding our expertise through learning and development
Alongside leadership and operational growth, 2026 will place a strong emphasis on education and professional development through recognising that the quality of medico legal evidence ultimately depends on the knowledge, confidence and competence of the experts producing it, and this is where Miriam Edwards, Head of Industry Learning and Development, plays a vital role in shaping the future of expert education at Speed Medical.
A former Partner at Slater & Gordon, Miriam brings exceptional experience in catastrophic injury, brain injury, chronic pain and psychiatric injury cases, and her distinguished legal career included leading a team of catastrophic injury lawyers handling some of the most complex and high-value cases in the UK such as landmark cases that set important legal precedents.
Recognised in both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, Miriam has also served as a Trustee and Company Secretary of Headway Hertfordshire, a member of the Vocational Rehabilitation Forum for the East of England, and one of only ten solicitors nationwide appointed by the Law Society as an Assessor for their Catastrophic Injury Accreditation Scheme.
Plus, over the past 10 years, Miriam has also has focused on supporting, training and mentoring expert witnesses to develop and deliver training programmes on all aspects of expert work, and she will now be responsible for leading a programme of webinars, training sessions and structured learning opportunities designed to support experts at every stage of their medico legal journey.
These initiatives will cover not only report writing and compliance, but also evolving legal expectations, best practice in assessment and the practical realities of giving evidence, to help ensure that experts are equipped with the tools and insight needed to deliver high quality, court ready opinions.
As a result, and by investing in education, we’re able to reinforce our commitment at Speed Medical to raising standards across the industry, all whilst supporting experts to develop sustainable and rewarding medico legal practices too.
Looking ahead with confidence
As 2026 approaches, we remain firmly focused on our core purpose to connect legal professionals with trusted medical expertise while continually enhancing the quality, efficiency and integrity of the medico legal process.
With a strengthened leadership team, an expanding rehabilitation and diagnostics offering and a renewed commitment to expert education and development, the year ahead represents a significant step forward, not only for Speed Medical as a business, but for the wider medico legal community it serves.
After all, the medico legal environment will see expectations continue to rise throughout 2026, which makes our investment in people, expertise and infrastructure all the more beneficial for our partners looking to deliver outcomes that support fair, informed decision making.
To find out more about Speed Medical and how we are preparing for the year ahead, speak to our expert team today by visiting www.speedmedical.com, contacting our team via email at info@speedmedical.com or calling us directly on 0330 094 8749.
