A NEW Internet service is set to revolutionise the way injury claims are processed, reducing the waiting time for thousands of people every year.

eWitness has been established by a group of doctors, lawyers and healthcare professionals to speed up the settlement of personal injury claims.

In the past personal injury claims have often taken many years to resolve, with the waiting time believed to puy many people off claiming compensation that is rightfully theirs.

Created in the summer, eWitness offers a national medial reporting service to the personal injury market.

Sir Harry Ognall is the executive board chairman of e-Witness. Now retired, he was a High Court judge who during an earlier stage in his career was prosecuting counsel at the Yorkshire Ripper trial.

He explained that eWitness was developed in part because of the reforms brought about by the Woolf Report. They have helped speed up access to justice because a claim below £15,000 can now be fast-tracked through the justice system.

e-Witness works by allowing solicitors and insurance companies to request medical reports on individuals making personal injury claims. The claimant can visit the nearest doctor, and there are more than 400 doctors and consultants across the country linked in to e-Witness.

The firm's chief executive is Dr David Pearce and its board includes Roger Pennone, a leading claimant solicitor in the UK. It also includes an insurance company solicitor and doctors.

"I believe that the status and breadth of experience of our board is unequalled in this field," said Sir Harry.

"That, and our truly national coverage, makes us specially suited to fulfil the spirit of the Woolf Report, demanding integrity and complete impartiality," he explained.

"I am happy to say that the rate at which our client base is growing - embracing both the very large and the smaller participants - suggests that my confidence is totally justified."

Sir Harry said the number of personal injury claims is around the 400,000 mark every year.

Under current conditions that number is expected to double in the coming months.