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Turn to Dovedale

We meet your needs by providing fast, easy access to our national network of ‘expert witnesses’, all of whom are Chartered Psychologists. Through our network, we provide guaranteed quality, expert witness testimony in family, civil and criminal proceedings.

Our objective is to make the process of finding, instructing, retaining and working effectively with experienced witnesses significantly easier for you. This saves you time and money and assures you of high quality reports, delivered on time……everytime.

The scope of the service

Our service includes:

• family court proceedings – custody of children, care orders, physical and sexual abuse, alcohol, drug and substance abuse
• post traumatic stress insurance claims – occupational, disaster, road traffic, general negligence
• injuries – including road traffic accident insurance claims, public transport claims such as rail, road, air and other forms of transport, injuries at work, and while on holiday and head injury
• sentencing in criminal proceedings – especially alternatives to imprisonment
• medical negligence claims – drug effects, surgery and general professional competence

Our expert witness network

Our network of “expert witnesses” is made up of experienced professionals who are qualified Chartered Psychologists. On your behalf, we monitor the quality, reliability and credibility of the experts in our network. We only use Chartered Psychologists with recognised expertise in key areas of evidence.

We totally manage the service for you from start to finish:

• we take instructions
• agree the scope, timetable, fees and type of expertise required
• select the appropriate expert from our network giving you a selection of CVs to choose from
• manage the quality of the service delivered
• ensure your report is delivered on time.

Fees

Our policy is to agree the fee structure and estimated cost of each case with you. Only when the workplan and fees have been agreed, do we instruct our expert to undertake your work.

Our fees depend on the complexity of each case and the amount of paperwork that is involved. We agree the workplan, including reading background court papers, undertaking assessments, interviews and observations, writing reports, discussing findings with other significant experts involved in the case, time for travel and time for attendance at court. We also charge a mileage fee for journeys taken and for cost of assessment and other necessary materials at cost, plus 10%.

There are no hidden extras, no expenditure without your prior approval and no surprises.

Dovedale's Expert Witness Team

Dr Barrie Brown BSc (Econ) MSc PhD AFBPsS C.Psychol – Quality Assurance Director – manages the process of setting fees and monitoring the quality standards of the services we provide. Barrie is also an expert in his own right specialising in areas of family proceedings, including custody of children, care orders, physical and sexual abuse of children, and young offenders.

Our Expert Witness Co-ordinator manages our network and is your primary point of contact.