School’s out. That time of the year again! For Aston Knight, it’s time for our 2023 mid-year performance report.

We are now halfway through 2023. An opportunity to reflect on, and review, our progress and our achievements in the first 6 months of the year, and just as importantly think about what the future holds.

Our six-monthly summary below shows some of the achievements which we are happy to share with you.

Examples of our recent case successes:

£105,000 for injured worker failed by national firm Slater and Gordon

Mr L suffered a back injury when an unsecured wagon door blew into him.  Unfortunately, he never recovered from the injury and his back pain continued.

Initially he instructed national firm, Slater and Gordon, who took his case on but later, with only six months left to run, advised him he was not going to succeed and therefore closed his case.

Mr L tried 32 other law firms following, all of whom refused to take his case on as they considered the case to be too complex and that there was insufficient time left to investigate.

Fortunately for Mr L he then approached Aston Knight Solicitors who accepted his case and after reviewing Slater and Gordon’s file realised that key areas of investigation had not been looked into.

After making appropriate investigations new evidence came to light which resulted in an admission of liability.

Specialist expert evidence was obtained and ultimately, following a period of negotiations, a settlement of £105,000 was reached which Mr L was delighted with.

Solicitor James Winterbottom, who dealt with the case, commented:

This is a further example of a client being badly let down by a law firm which failed to undertake basic enquiries.  Whilst many clients may feel safer with a large firm, what we tend to see are cases being handled by junior and inexperienced staff who are too quick to give up on cases and are unable to see the route through to success.  At Aston Knight Solicitors every case is handled by an experienced solicitor, with a proven track record.

 

£40,000 for injured workman turned away by local firm

Mr D suffered a slipping injury at work when he slipped on a discarded piece of plastic, resulting in him suffering a shoulder injury.

Initially he approached a local Bury firm who declined to take his case on following which he approached Aston Knight Solicitors who duly accepted the case.

After securing an admission of liability we obtained specialist expert evidence and issued court proceedings in order to secure a fair settlement. Whilst the defendant solicitors put up a difficult stance throughout the case, ultimately, and following a period of lengthy negotiations, a settlement of £40,000 was reached with which Mr D was delighted. Following conclusion of his case

Mr D commented:
If anyone ever needs a solicitor I will sure be forwarding Aston Knights details. Great service I received!

 

£25,000 for injured shopper failed by national firm Irwin Mitchell

Mr R suffered an injury to his neck and wrist when he slipped on a hazard on a supermarket floor.  The evidence suggested that the floor was not being checked frequently enough and the slipping hazard had been there for a long time.

He initially approached a large national law firm, Irwin Mitchell, who initiated the claim but when liability was denied advised Mr R that he did not have a case and then closed their file. Fortunately for Mr R, a friend of his recommended Aston Knight Solicitors and we were happy to take on his case.  Whilst liability remained denied, we obtained specialist expert evidence and initiated court proceedings against the supermarket.

Following a period of negotiations a settlement of £25,000 was agreed, with which Mr R was delighted.

Solicitor James Winterbottom, who dealt with the case, commented:

Many clients are under the misapprehension that they will have better prospects of success if they choose a large, national law firm, rather than a smaller specialist firm such as ours.  The truth is often the opposite in that we receive many cases failed or rejected by large and national law firms and, thankfully, are very often able to turn them around and get good results for clients.  Many large firms pass cases on to inexperienced and junior staff, in order to maximise profit, but here we will always ensure that cases are dealt with by an experienced solicitor with a proven case success record.

Recruitment news

Aston Knight is proud to announce the recruitment of two solicitors to the firm. We welcome Saqib Bashir and Andrew Thompson who have recently joined our team of specialist personal injury and medical negligence solicitors.

Saqib made the following comment:

I joined the team at Aston Knight Solicitors, impressed with the ethos of the firm and their personal approach to each and every client and matter.  I am enjoying the varied cases; from simple personal injury matters to more complex and challenging multi-million pound cases.

I have over 20 years’ experience of dealing with personal injury matters from both a Claimant and Defendant background, including expertise in civil and commercial litigation matters.

Andrew wished to share the following words:

I joined Aston Knight Solicitors in June 2023 and I have seamlessly settled into my new role. It feels like I have always been a part of the team. I have already built a very varied and interesting caseload and look forward to providing an invaluable service to those who have suffered injury and loss through no fault of their own. I have over 10 years’ experience dealing with complex and high value personal injury claims and, in more recent times, I have gained valuable experience representing claimants in both general clinical negligence and dental negligence matters.

And so, what does the remainder of 2023 hold?

Well, our team are busy working towards settling a number of £1m plus cases. We are also expanding our Dental Negligence and Medical Negligence departments following the recruitment of Saqib and Andrew and are excited to see our practice continue to grow.