Donoghue Solicitors is a firm of award-winning lawyers. We specialise in actions against the police claims and regularly get asked to take over police claims from people who have instructed other lawyers. If you want to transfer your case to us read how we can help you here, then:
• contact us on 08000 124 246; or
• complete the online contact form on this page.
Why Instruct a Specialist Solicitor?
To give yourself the best chance of winning your claim we recommend that you instruct a solicitor who specialises in actions against the police first. (Read how to do that here.) This is because, unlike Donoghue Solicitors, most solicitors who represent claimants in other areas of civil litigation do not have the necessary legal expertise or experience to bring actions against the police. (Police claims law is unusual and rarely taught in law school, and few firms practice it.) By contrast, the police use specialist defence lawyers who are well-trained in fighting these compensation claims.
So, by instructing non-specialist solicitors, claimants are more likely to lose their claims against the police. Even if they win, solicitors who don’t specialise in police claims can under-settle or miss various “heads of claim” (read about them here) leaving claimants out-of-pocket.
Ask Kevin Donoghue, Solicitor, to take over your actions against the police claim.
How Do I Know if My Current Solicitor is Doing a Good Job?
It makes sense to start your claim with a specialist solicitor but what should you do if you’ve already instructed someone? Without legal expertise it can be hard to know if your claim is in safe hands. Even so, you may recognise these warning signs that you are receiving poor service, which might also suggest your claim is at risk:
• you feel like your lawyer is avoiding you
• long periods of time when nothing is happening without telling you why
• delays in responding to emails, letters, phone calls
• failure to keep appointments
• avoiding questions when you ask about your claim
• using legal jargon which you don’t understand or doesn’t answer your questions
• frequent changes of solicitor without good reason
• you feel like a number, not a name.
What to Do Before Transferring Your Claim to Another Solicitor
If you are unhappy with the way your actions against the police claim is being handled by your current solicitor we recommend that you raise your concerns with them, or their supervisor, first. If your issues relate to poor service or a clash of personalities they might be able to fix things by, for example, transferring your case to a more appropriate lawyer in the firm. That way you do not have to deal with the inconvenience of instructing another firm.
But if you have lost confidence in your current solicitor and can’t transfer your case to a suitable lawyer within the firm (for instance, if the firm does not have any specialist actions against the police solicitors), contact us for a second opinion. We may be able to help identify issues, tell you why things are not going to plan, and, if appropriate, take over your police claim.
How to Transfer Your Claim to Donoghue Solicitors
If we take over your claim from your current solicitors, we will do everything we can to make the process as smooth as possible. We will help you with any paperwork and issues which might arise. And when we take over your actions against the police claim, we will fight hard to get you the justice you deserve.
For more about how we help claimants who transfer their cases to us, read our case study about “Bob” who was not happy with his previous (non-specialist) solicitors. His claim was going nowhere so, after speaking to our Solicitor Director Kevin Donoghue, Bob asked us to take over his claim against the police. Because Mr Donoghue specialises in actions against the police he was quickly able to spot the problems, including that Bob’s previous solicitors were claiming for personal injuries only and did not include a claim for false imprisonment, which was worth valuable extra compensation. Kevin made sure that Bob received full compensation for both his personal injury and false imprisonment claims.
Reasons Why We Won’t Take Over Your Police Claim
Unfortunately, we can’t take every claim. You are free to ask us for a second opinion, but you may not be able to transfer your case to us for a number of reasons, such as:
• your current solicitors refuse to release your file until you have paid their bill, and you are unwilling or unable to do so
• your case is near, or past, an important limitation date (see our page on time limits for more about limitation dates and why they matter)
• your actions against the police claim has borderline, or poor, prospects of success
• your claim against the police is not worth enough compensation to justify getting a specialist solicitor involved
• you are unable to fund your case with us (read our page on funding options for more).
• you want legal aid. We are not legal aid lawyers. Please note: our Law Society listing wrongly says we offer legal aid. We have notified them of the error. Click here to find a legal aid lawyer.
• you want to sue a police force outside England and Wales.
If we are unable to take over your claim other law firms might be able to help. We recommend using the Law Society’s free Find a Solicitor service for suggestions.
Contact us to Transfer Your Claim
At Donoghue Solicitors, we pride ourselves on personal service as well as expert legal advice. Don’t take our word for it. Read some of our genuine client reviews to judge for yourself.
Find out if we can take over your claim by completing the online form on this page. Our website uses cutting-edge 256-bit security so you can be confident that your details will be safe and treated in the strictest confidence. Alternatively, call us on 08000 124 246.
Dear Kevin, I would like to thank you for all your help over the past year or so. My family and me had a fantastic Christmas and its all thanks to you. I cannot explaine [sic] how happy I was to receive that money, not alot left but kids had a fantastic Christmas and my… Read more »
Rating: ***** Excellent service! Following a recent car accident, Donoghue Solicitors made a very stressful and difficult time so much easier. Their speed of response, consistent communication and helpful professional manner, really made a bad situation so much better. A wonderful company to deal with – Highly recommended. Read more reviews here.
Rating: ***** Car Accident Donoghue solicitors was recommended to me after my accident and from the very first phone call I was put at ease and 100% sure they would get me what I deserved. The staff are friendly and efficient, always there to give an update or just some reassurance. My claim was dealt with… Read more »
Rating: ***** Quick, concise and thorough, highly recommended After using several solicitors within Liverpool and Manchester I can honestly say this is the best one I have come across. I was given Mr Donoghue’s name as a recommendation from a friend after an accident. Right from the get-go Mr Donoghue was all over it – I… Read more »