Potter Rees Dolan > Manchester, England > Firm Profile
Potter Rees Dolan Offices
12 COMMERCIAL STREET
MANCHESTER
M15 4PZ
England
Potter Rees Dolan > The Legal 500 Rankings
Insurance > Personal injury and clinical negligence: claimant
Potter Rees Dolan’s clinical negligence team advises clients who have suffered brain and spinal cord injuries. Helen Dolan leads the team, while Lesley Herbertson deals with maximum severity claims for both adults and children. Gill Edwards is another key name to note. The firm’s personal injury team specialises in complex brain and spinal injuries, amputations, serious orthopaedic and criminal injury cases. Hugh Potter oversees the practice, acting for clients with brain injuries who have made a good physical recovery, but are struggling with decision-making or poor behavioural control. Gary Herbert represents pedestrians and cyclists injured in road traffic accidents.Practice head(s):
Helen Dolan; Hugh Potter
Other key lawyers:
Lesley Herbertson; Gill Edwards; Gary Herbert; Helen Budge
Testimonials
‘PRD are a great company to work with. They are very knowledgable in spinal injuries.’
‘While I have been going through my case I have felt that Lesley Herbertson has always explained all the information very well and has always made me feel as though we were going through it together and I am grateful for that.’
‘The professionalism and the doggedness with which Lesley Herhertson and her team handled our claim were exemplary, employing an avalanche of their experience to make sure our claim succeeded.’
‘Helen Dolan is outstanding, her knowledge of the law and ability to pick up on the smallest detail in conversation is how all solicitors should aim to practice, she is very caring and you feel that you are able to discuss anything with her.’
‘I would describe the practice as efficient, effective and focused, but in a person-centred rather than a bureaucratic way.’
‘Gill Edwards is a highly skilled and knowledgeable practitioner. Her friendly and supportive manner creates a strong bond with clients, and her experience in the field gives confidence to individuals and families who aren’t experienced in this world.’
‘Lesley Herbertson is very experienced and extremely knowledgeable. She takes an informed and realistic approach to all of her cases and offers cogent and sound advice. Clients, experts and counsel like and respect her.’
‘Gill Edwards is hugely experienced, very personable and willing to fight for a client.’
Work highlights
Potter Rees Dolan > Firm Profile
Potter Rees Dolan is a Manchester firm with a national reputation in personal injury and clinical negligence, notably in cases of the utmost severity and complexity.
Between August 2020 and 2021, the firm secured over £125m in damages for its seriously injured clients.
The firm: The firm was established in 1998, 24 years ago, by Hugh Potter. The firm is now a limited company and has re-branded as Potter Rees Dolan. In 2011, it gained a base in Cumbria through an agreement to use the premises and other facilities of GK&M Solicitors.
Potter Rees Dolan has acquired an enviable reputation as a provider of high-quality legal services for people who have sustained a serious injury or who live with a disability. It is particularly known for its expertise in acting on behalf of those who have sustained catastrophic injury through accident or clinical negligence.
The firm has always been committed to treating clients in a caring, professional and client-friendly manner, and delivering advice in a clear and straight-forward way.
Potter Rees Dolan provides initial free advice, and lawyers will travel to see clients at home or in hospital. Its city-centre offices are fully wheelchair accessible.
The practice is a proud sponsor of Headway. A number of its solicitors are AvMA panel members, SRA-accredited and Fellows of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), assuring clients the best service and care at all times.
Potter Rees Dolan intends to maintain its strategy of organic growth within its niche market segment.
Types of work undertaken: Potter Rees Dolan’s practice strongly focuses on personal injury, clinical negligence, Court of Protection cases and welfare benefits.
Personal injury: Potter Rees Dolan has experience in all types and aspects of acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury, including disease or damage to the spinal cord ranging from loss of sensation in parts of the body through to tetraplegia or paraplegia. The firm acts in a range of matters, including accidents abroad, accidents in the workplace, accidents in public places, road traffic accidents, serious criminal assaults, fatal accidents and professional negligence. The firm has sued other solicitors who have failed to carry out their professional duties properly.
Clinical negligence: Potter Rees Dolan acts on behalf of many injured clients because of the negligence of medical professionals, including cases involving treatment in the National Health Service and private hospitals. Expertise includes medical mismanagement at birth, negligence cases resulting in brain injury and spinal cord injury, such as cerebral palsy or caudia equina, failure to diagnose cases, surgical negligence and pressure sores. In appropriate cases, the practice fully investigates all physical and mental impairments, as well as cost of future care, loss of future earnings, costs of obtaining access to special equipment, cost of future accommodation requirements and welfare benefits entitlements. This includes assistance with completing them, assistance with benefit appeals, representation at benefit tribunals and assistance setting up personal injury trusts to protect benefit entitlement post-settlement.
Court of Protection: where clients are unable to manage their own affairs, the firm acts as deputy, appointed by the Court of Protection, to manage clients’ finances. A deputy makes arrangements for everyday matters such as paying bills, claiming welfare benefits, investing money and budgeting for the future. Court of Protection clients include children with cerebral palsy, adults with severe brain injuries, adults with learning difficulties and elderly clients with dementia.
Welfare benefits: the firm believes in providing a holistic service to all its clients and has a highly experienced, dedicated welfare benefits solicitor who provides essential, timely advice for those clients and their families who need it following a serious injury. The department also provides pro bono advice on welfare benefits matters to individuals and charitable organisations.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Injury | Hugh Potter | hughpotter@prd.uk.com | 0800 027 2557 |
| Clinical Negligence | Helen Dolan | helendolan@prd.uk.com | 0800 027 2557 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Farah Arshad | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Sophie Birch | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Helen Budge | Senior Solicitor with broad experience of clinical negligence claims including brain injury… | View Profile |
 | Kelly Charlton | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Elliott Clifton-Thompson | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Helen Dolan | Senior Partner and head of the esteemed clinical negligence team at Potter… | View Profile |
 | Gill Edwards | Partner at Potter Rees Dolan in Manchester. She has spent the whole… | View Profile |
 | Richard Edwards | Richard is experienced in dealing with high value unusual personal injury cases… | View Profile |
 | Jeanne Evans | Partner specialised in catastrophic personal injury for over 20 years and took… | View Profile |
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| Samantha Fung | View Profile | |
 | James Gratton | Solicitor | View Profile |
|
| Matthew Hall | Chartered Legal Executive | View Profile |
 | Alison Hartley | Partner and senior member of the personal injury department specialising in catastrophic… | View Profile |
 | Gary Herbert | Partner in catastophic brain and spinal injuries with a particular expertise acting… | View Profile |
 | Lesley Herbertson | Partner specialising in birth, spinal and acquired brain injury work, as well… | View Profile |
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| Anna Higham | Work Department Clinical negligence Position Senior Solicitor specialising in high value and… | View Profile |
 | Catherine Keeley | Chartered Legal Executive | View Profile |
 | Terri Kelly | Solicitor | View Profile |
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| Rebecca Marshall | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Nicola Mepstead | Nicola predominantly deals with brain injury cases of various degrees; from catastrophic… | View Profile |
 | Amber Mitchell | Amber is a Senior Solicitor at Potter Rees Dolan. She specialises in… | View Profile |
 | Josh Morton | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Naomi O'Rourke | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Sami Palmer-Latif | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Greg Poole | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Hugh Potter | Managing Partner and head of the Personal Injury Department. Specialises in brain… | View Profile |
 | Peter Renshaw | Senior Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Mark Robinson | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Jeremy Smith | Jeremy specialises in personal injury claims of catastrophic injury, dealing with clients… | View Profile |
 | Samantha Spain | Solicitor specialising in brain injury and litigation support work. Samantha understands the nuances of… | View Profile |
 | Mark Wilding | Solicitor | View Profile |
 | Ruth Wright | Ruth has over 15 years’ experience of acting as a professional Court… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of UK partners : 11 Number of other UK fee-earners : 26Languages
English (fluent) French Italian PolishMemberships
Headway Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) AvMAClient Testimonials
CLIENT: Anonymous (via Review Solicitors)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: Potter Rees Dolan took over a highly complex case from another firm of solicitors who we did not feel were progressing it to a high enough standard. From the start to the end their service was faultless. Communication, advice, guidance and advocacy were superb, from every member of staff we dealt with, and this all resulted in a great outcome. We are so grateful to everyone involved.
CLIENT: Paul Gregory (via Review Solicitors)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: Professional, helpful, and caring. The team at Potter Rees Dolan have been nothing but professional, helpful and caring in every aspect of my case. Rachel, Sami and Suzanne have been amazing with me and understand my condition so have helped me along the way step by step. I don’t have anyone else to help me and nothing is ever too much trouble for them. I don’t know what I would do without their help.
CLIENT: Malik Al Nasir (via Review Solicitors)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: After having awful experiences with two prior firms of solicitors, I’d almost lost hope in receiving justice. I approached Potter Rees Dolan as a last resort and in a state of absolute despair. Hugh Potter showed immense empathy and a sincere dedication to my pursuit of justice and restored my faith in the legal process. As such, we won a case that others had said was “un-winnable”, securing not only substantial compensation for his client but also a public apology from the Local Authority. I would have no hesitation at all in highly recommending Potter Rees Dolan as a firm of high integrity, exceptional client care and impeccable professionalism.
CLIENT: Anne Pearcey (via Review Solicitors)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: The idea of approaching solicitors is daunting for most people. All you expect is high costs, delay and people overwhelming you with jargon. However, I had no need to worry. The Brain Charity suggested Potter Rees Dolan to me as possible solicitors to help me help my cousin, who had had a massive brain injury. From the minute I started speaking to Greg Poole, I never looked back. He understood the legal problems I faced and how to tackle them. He gave me very helpful advice, replied to my emails swiftly and left me feeling confident that I was doing the best for my cousin. I looked forward to talking to him.
CLIENT: Anonymous (via Review Solicitors)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: Our family has received excellent service from this company and in particular from Hugh Potter. Throughout our long and complicated case we have been professionally and sympathetically supported, the quality of work is of an extremely high standard, and the advice we received along the way was always top notch and well communicated. I can highly recommend this company.
CLIENT: Liam S (via Yell)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: Lesley Herbertson and her team were excellent throughout the process, with what was a difficult case. Our legal advice was delivered clearly and communicated well, with superb attention to detail and support throughout. We can’t thank you enough.
CLIENT: Sheila L (via Yell)
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL Helen Budge has been our solicitor through a long and quite daunting medical negligence case. Her professional manner, attention to detail and compassion has been second to none throughout the four and a half years. The litigation process was explained to us in great detail at each step, so we were always in control of proceedings. Exceptional service, would highly recommend.
CLIENT: Will Evans
COMPANY/FIRM: Potter Rees Dolan Client
TESTIMONIAL: From the outset, Gary was a massive help. He was clear from the start that this would not be a quick process, but I cannot be more pleased with how it was handled. From the experts recommended to the case manager appointed, everything was perfect. I would most definitely recommend. Bev was also great at being there when Gary was not available to help. I couldn’t fault anything, Potter Rees Dolan made everything about the process easy and bearable.