At the outset of this judgment I must emphasise three very important and essential facts that I find and that are now agreed by all involved:
i) K has never been a victim of non accidental injury
ii) The care of K by his parents is and has always been exemplary
iii) K’s parents and relatives acted promptly and appropriately in obtaining medical treatment for him.
In the reading of complex medical materials these essential facts may become obscured. They should not be forgotten. This is not a case where there is ‘no smoke without fire’, this is a case where a family court and the expert who advised it got it wrong. The parents have no case to answer but their son spent 12 months of his very young life away from their care while the family courts acted to correct the error. K’s parents deserve an explanation as will K when he is older. It is not surprising in these circumstances that there are lessons to be learned.
Judges:
Ryder J
Citations:
[2007] EWHC 136 (Fam), [2007] 2 FLR 597
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Lancashire County Council v R (A Minor) and others FD 4-Dec-2008
The local authority sought a care order, alleging serious physical abuse of the child. The mother said that any injuries had been inflicted by the father. The father said that the cause was the mother.
Held: The injuries were not likely to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children
Updated: 01 February 2022; Ref: scu.253473