The claimant child suffered permanent damage in the form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She now appealed from rejection of her claim for criminal injuries, saying that her mother’s drinking had been made her guilty of unlawfully administering a poison to any other person so as thereby to inflict grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and that it constituted a crime of violence within the meaning of the scheme.
Held: The appeal failed. At the time when the alcohol was ingested, she had not been a ‘separate person’.
Judges:
Lord Dyson MR, Treacy, King LJJ
Citations:
[2014] EWCA Civ 1554, [2014] WLR(D) 520, [2015] 4 All ER 60, [2015] 2 FLR 1163, [2015] 1 Cr App R 19, (2015) 142 BMLR 18, [2015] 2 WLR 463, [2015] PIQR P12, [2015] 1 QB 459, [2015] Fam Law 123
Links:
Statutes:
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 23
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Personal Injury
Updated: 15 July 2022; Ref: scu.539732