Case History
Due to the confidential nature of Children Act proceedings I am unable to provide names of cases or full details. The below anonymised cases provide a snapshot of the work I have personally undertaken over the last twelve years. Where a case has been reported in the Law Reports the citation is given in bold. I represent mothers, fathers, grandparents and other carers (boyfriend etc) all over England and Wales from Manchester and Newcastle to the Midlands and South East. I have also included some of the work of my colleague, Victoria Harle.
Re B
I represented a mother who had sole care of her one year old son when he had an accident. At hospital, intracranial injuries were identified to his brain and eyes and the parents were accused of shaking him. After complex proceedings with five medical experts, the local authority accepted the mother’s account of the accident and that this had caused the injuries. They withdrew their application for a care order and the child returned home to his parent’s care.
Re E
I represented the father in this case where one of the children had been repeatedly given an overdose of insulin. The father was cleared of any wrongdoing and the children remain in his care.
Re A
My colleague, Victoria Harle, represented a mother accused of causing bruising to her 4 month old son. The expert Paediatrician rejected the explanations of the parents. She was able to bring to the attention of the expert an abnormality that showed the mark was not a bruise at all. This was accepted by the expert and the local authority withdrew their application for a care order. The child was returned to the care of the mother.
Thurrock Council v M & Ors (Withdrawal of Care Proceedings) [2021] EWFC 22 (10 March 2021)
This sad case involved the death of an infant with the initial cause of death suggesting that the parents had inflicted an injury. Through extensive expert evidence we were able to demonstrate that the cause of death was accidental, the local authority withdrew their application for care orders and the surviving children were able to return home.
https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2021/22.html&query=(Wollens)
Re R
My colleague, Victoria Harle, represented the mother in this case where a one month old baby was presented to hospital with a problem with his leg. Investigations revealed a fractured femur and bruising to his cheek. Treating doctors were of the opinion that the injuries were non-accidental in nature and the local authority therefore issued proceedings. Our client, the mother, was found not to have caused these injuries and the children were returned to her care.
Re G
These proceedings involved a young baby who was found to have several fractures to the ribs and arm. After exploration of the medical and expert evidence, in conjunction with my client’s evidence, the court cleared my client and the children returned to her care.
Re F
My colleague, Victoria Harle, acted for a grandfather, accused of deliberately administering prescription medication to his grandson to cause drowsiness. At a fact-finding hearing, he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Re B2
I represented the father in very length care proceedings following the youngest child being found with intracranial injuries. The father was cleared of any wrongdoing and the children returned to his care. The proceedings then continued to deal with risk issues around the mother and how the risk could be managed to progress contact.
Re B3
I represented a mother accused of FII by way of exaggerating and misleading medical professionals. Whilst some findings were made against the parents, through successful assessments in the welfare stage, the children were able to return to the care of their parents.
B (Children), Re [2021] EWCA Civ 1221 (13 August 2021)
This is an appeal judgment relating to whether or not a biological father should be served with notice of care proceedings.
https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/1221.html&query=(Wollens)
Re M
A young baby was found to have a large head circumference during a routine medical examination and further investigation revealed a bleed on the brain. Both parents were accused of causing the injury by shaking the child. I represented the mother and with expert evidence it was demonstrated that the injury was birth related. The local authority withdrew their application for a care order and the child returned home.
Re C
I represented a father accused of FII. After analysis of voluminous records it became clear that the LA could not prove their case and they sought to withdraw their applications for care orders.
Re P
I represented a mother who was accused, along with the father, of shaking her child. After medical and expert evidence assisted by narrowing the timing of the injury, the Court removed the mother from the pool of perpetrators and the child returned to her care.
Re W
Here I represented a mother who was accused of causing several fractures to her daughter. After obtaining expert evidence and after hearing the parent’s give evidence, the Court cleared them of any wrongdoing and the children returned to their care.