header-logo header-logo

The disability trap

13 May 2010 / Finola Moss
Issue: 7417 / Categories: Features , Child law , Family
printer mail-detail

Finola Moss identifies some fundamental flaws in the care system

The recent Court of Appeal judgment in M-W (a Child) EWCA Civ 12 brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of the disabled family within care proceedings. This judgment involved a baby, whose premature birth had resulted in serious medical problems.

At 11 months old she was removed by an interim care order from her bipolar mother, despite evidence that: the mother’s support package was insufficient from day one; the parents’ tracheotomy use being “pretty impressive’’; the judge finding that, the “mother had acquitted herself well in caring for [the baby] on her own in difficult circumstances’’; and a lack of any definitive evidence of the mother’s mental condition or the harm it might cause her child.

The psychiatrist had to defer to a psychologist’s evidence that the mother might be suffering from an emotionally unstable personality disorder, the symptoms of which are, in any event , similar to bipolar. This disorder was the main cause for concern, as unlike bipolar, it was untreatable,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll