When children suffer non-accidental injuries, suspicions inevitably follow and family courts are often called upon to perform the difficult task of identifying perpetrators. In one case, a judge pointed the finger at a controlling father whose two-year-old son fell into a coma with very high levels of an epilepsy drug in his bloodstream.
After a lengthy hearing during which a number of medical experts testified, the judge exonerated the mother. He ruled that the drug had been given to the boy either by his father or his current partner and that both were aware of what had happened. They had also failed to seek medical assistance in a timely fashion and had sought to conceal the truth from medics, the police and social workers.
The judge noted that the bullying father’s relationship with both women had been characterised by arguments and violence, including attacks upon them when they were pregnant. The judge’s findings of fact would have a critical impact on pending care proceedings relating to the boy and other children of the family.