Folkestone Personal Injury Solicitors – No Win No Fee Claims

By Stephen Frost. Last Updated 30th September 2021. This guide will explain how to select the right Folkestone personal injury solicitors, how a No Win No Fee service works and the most common types of injury claims that are filed.

Anybody who’s had an accident in Folkestone that was somebody else’s fault can make use of Legal Expert, a personal injury solicitor, to help make a claim for compensation.

Folkestone personal injury solicitors

Our solicitors are specialists dealing with personal injury claims with many years experience. If you’d like to make a claim today, then our contact details can be found at the bottom of this guide.

How our legal experts can help you

It can be really daunting to think about making any type of legal case against someone. People worry about the financial impact, dealing with solicitors and sometimes the fact they are going to claim against their current employer.

You shouldn’t worry however as there are laws and legislation in the UK that protect somebody who’s been injured, because of somebody else’s negligence, which means that it’s possible to claim without any prejudice against you.

Financially we can help with our No Win No Fee service which means there are no up-front costs and, if your case isn’t successful, you don’t have to pay us anything at all.

Criteria you need to meet to claim damages

There are a number of things that must be proven to make a successful claim for an accident in Folkestone and these will determine if you’re case is likely to proceed or not. These are:

• The defendant (the entity you are claiming against such as a doctor, your employer, a shop or local authority) must owe you a duty of care.
• Then, it needs to be shown that the duty of care was breached in some way.
• Finally, evidence needs to show that the breach was what caused your illness or injury to occur.

When all of these points can be shown then a personal injury lawyer is likely to take your case on and you should instruct them as soon as possible after your accident. This means they will have plenty of time to gather as much supporting evidence as possible which, in turn, will increase the likelihood of your claim being successful.

Why it’s important to choose the right solicitor for your claim

Choosing the right personal injury solicitor is a very important step in your claim as they really are the cornerstone of any claim. The right solicitor will be able to put together a well-evidenced claim which can be all the difference between winning or losing your case.

Furthermore, an experienced and competent lawyer will be able to demonstrate the exact nature of your injuries plus the impact they have had on you which can mean a higher compensation payment.

At the end of the day, the compensation is there to support your recovery which means having the right solicitor can have a big impact on your life moving forwards.

Check solicitor and lawyer reviews

When choosing a solicitor, you may just pick a name and give them a call to see what they can do for you, and this may work out ok, but we’d recommend that before calling a solicitor you take a look at reviews of their work from recent clients.

Have a look to see what type of success rate they have, how happy their clients are with the service provided, the payment amounts and how complimentary the previous clients are overall. Reviews can be a really good tool when choosing the right solicitor for your claim.

Our reviews, from recent clients, can be found here.

Am I limited to using a solicitor in my area?

Quite simply, the answer to this question is no. There is no requirement to use a local solicitor and in real terms, it doesn’t actually matter as most communications between solicitor and client are made over the phone, email or letter.

The only part of any claim that needs to be completed locally is a medical assessment so that the client doesn’t have to waste time with excessive travel.

Legal Expert have a panel of medical specialists all over the country and will always ensure you see one locally.

What accident and injury claims do our team conduct?

Legal Expert can make a compensation claim for any accident that was caused by the negligence of somebody else. This can range from the most serious of injuries down to minor injuries, so long as the accident wasn’t your fault.

The next sections describe the accidents and injuries that Folkestone personal injury solicitors deal with most often:

Industrial disease claims

There are a number of serious industrial illnesses and diseases that don’t get diagnosed for some time after they were caused. This is generally because they get worse over time and may not get diagnosed by a doctor until many years later.

The common types of industrial illnesses that occur include:

• Tinnitus
• Bursitis
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Acoustic Shock
• Industrial Asthma
• Chemical Poisoning
• Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome

All of these illnesses, as well as others not listed here, can be claimed for if the employer was the cause of them. This can include the fact that they were aware of the risks of a certain type of repetitive task but did nothing to mitigate the risks (such as using improved tools or varying the work tasks).

Medical negligence claims

Medical negligence is caused when you attend a doctor, hospital, dentist or health centre to either be treated or because you’re reporting an illness and you either aren’t treated or the treatment you receive causes you to become injured or your illness worsens.

Types of medical negligence include:

• Incorrect diagnosis of a condition (misdiagnosis).
• Delayed diagnosis (where you attend multiple appointments with the same symptoms but don’t get diagnosed correctly until a later appointment).
• Incorrect prescriptions.
• Surgical negligence (including have items left inside your body following surgery).
• Contracting infections such as MRSA while attending a hospital.

If you’ve become ill or injured while receiving treatment (including cosmetic surgery) then we could help you to make a compensation claim. We have a more detailed guide about medical negligence claims in Folkestone here.

Accident at work claims in Folkestone

All employers have a duty of care to protect their staff from being injured at work under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which means if you have an accident while working in Folkestone and it is due to inadequate training, unsafe working practices, damaged equipment or lack of safety equipment then you can usually make a No Win No Fee case against your employer.

If you’re not sure if your employer is really liable for your accident and subsequent injuries, then please call our team of specialist claim advisors who understand what does and doesn’t constitute negligence.

For further information, please check out our accident at work claims guide.

Slip, trip, and fall injury claims

Slipping or tripping on something can lead to some very complicated injuries that may take many months, or longer, to fully recover from.

They can happen just about anywhere including: at work, in a hospital, a hotel, at school, on a high street, a pub or restaurant and if the accident was caused because of the land owners’ negligence then you could make a claim for compensation.

Liability is often proven where:

• • The flooring or pavement was uneven or damaged in some way.
  • The floor was excessively slippery or wet and there were no warning signs.
  • There was a trip hazard that was masked by poor or faulty lighting.

• A fixture (such as a handrail) was faulty, damaged or missing.

Serious injury claims solicitors

Normally an injury can be defined as serious or severe because it is life-changing in some way. This can be true if the injury changes the life of someone other than the claimant too (such as somebody who has to give up their job to become a permanent carer for the injured party).

If you’ve been involved in an accident in Folkestone and believe it could be deemed a serious injury, then you can find out more in our serious injury claims guide.

Road traffic accident claims in Folkestone

Car crashes and other road traffic accidents are among the most common claims that Folkestone personal injury solicitors deal with. Such claims can be made by pedestrians, drivers and passengers where there is another road user involved who was to blame.

Injuries sustained in car crashes can range from whiplash to much more serious life-changing injuries which means a compensation claim is inevitable. Even if there is no insurance available for the other driver then we can help you make a claim against a scheme operated by the insurance industry.

We have a more in-depth study regarding road traffic accidents here.

Road traffic casualties in the Kent County Council area

While Legal Expert can potentially assist with road traffic accident claims, you may be wondering just how common such accidents and casualties are in Folkestone and the wider area of Kent. To help answer this, we can look at road accident statistics which are regularly published by the Department for Transport. According to the organisation’s 2019 annual report, the following statistics were recorded in Kent:

• There were 3,619 road accidents reported in Kent in 2019.
• 773 killed or seriously injured (KSI) road casualties were reported in the county during 2019. This total is more than 2018 (741) but fewer compared to 2017 and 2016 (811 and 887 respectively).

What is the meaning of No Win No Fee?

If you’re looking for a No Win No Fee service for an accident in Folkestone, then Legal Expert can help but you may wonder what’s actually involved in a No Win No Fee service. Put simply, No Win No Fee cases are just as complex as a traditional claim (where the client pays upfront) but are riskier for the solicitor (as they don’t get paid if they lose).

A No Win No Fee agreement (sometimes called a conditional fee agreement) will be drawn up and will explain what percentage of any compensation will be paid to the solicitor if they win the case.

Can you make a No Win No Fee claim?

If your accident claim has a good chance of success, then your solicitor can offer a No Win No Fee service (usually after assessing your claim during a free consultation).

If your solicitor doesn’t win your case, then you don’t have to pay them for their service or their time but if they successfully win you a compensation award then they’ll simply deduct their agreed fee from the payment (which is good as you don’t have to find the funds yourself).

Where can I find further information?

If after reading this guide, you’re still looking for more information before deciding whether to make a claim or not then don’t worry. This website has hundreds of more specific guides which may be relevant to your particular injury or accident scenario but, if you can’t find the information you need, you can call one of our team who’ll be able to provide further information and guide you regarding what your next actions should be.

Speak to us today

Hopefully, you’re now ready to begin your claim today and want to make use of the Legal Expert No Win No Fee service. If that’s the case, then you can get in touch with our specialist advisors by:

• Telephone: Call us today on 0800 073 8804 for free.
• Email: Send a message, with the details of your accident, to office@legalexpert.co.uk.
• Live chat: Our advisors can chat with you from any page on our website.
• Online Claim: Fill in our online claim form and we’ll call you back at a time that’s convenient to you.

Whichever method you choose, one of our specialist claim advisors will be able to start your claim, offer any advice you require and complete your free initial consultation. If you have legitimate grounds to make an injury claim, then we can put you in touch with our Folkestone personal injury solicitors.

Helpful contact information in Folkestone

If you’ve had an accident in Folkestone, then there are some organisations you may need to contact (as well as Legal Expert). We’ve listed their details below:

Local Police Station
Folkestone Police Station
Bouverie House
Bouverie Road West
Folkestone
CT20 2SG
Tel:101
Web: https://www.kent.police.uk/

Local Crown Court
The Law Courts
Castle Hill Avenue
Folkestone
CT20 2DH
Tel:01303 227800
Web: https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/folkestone-magistrates-court
Opening Times: Monday to Thursday – 9.30am to 4pm

Local Hospital
Royal Victoria Hospital
Radnor Park Avenue
Folkestone
Kent
CT19 5BN
Tel:01303 850202
Web: www.nhs.uk/Services/hospitals/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=3361

Finally, here are some more guides that may help you if you’ve been injured in an accident in Folkestone:

Street Accident Claims – This guide is useful if you’ve been injured on a street and it’s not clear who to make a claim against.

Personal injury compensation – A useful guide that gives an indication of the types of amounts that can be awarded for specific injuries.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

• Eastbourne Personal Injury Solicitors
• Ellesmere Port Personal Injury Solicitors
• Enfield Personal Injury Solicitors
• Ewell Personal Injury Solicitors
• Exeter Personal Injury Solicitors
• Fareham Personal Injury Solicitors
• Farnborough Personal Injury Solicitors
• Filton Personal Injury Solicitors 
• What Is Professional Negligence?
• Gateshead Personal Injury Solicitors
• Head Injury Claims

Thank you for reading our guide on making an injury claim with the assistance of Folkestone personal injury solicitors.