By Evie Robson, 9th April 2021 Everyone is suffering as a result of the pandemic. Mr Justice Hayden described it as ‘a pandemic in which fundamental rights and liberties are at every corner curbed’. The ‘right to family life’ (Article 8 of the Human Rights Act) has been one of the most painful casualties of theContinue reading “Right to Family Life in a Care Home during a Pandemic: Michelle Davies part 2”
Tag Archives: Best Interests
A perspective from the ICU on best interests at the end of life
To the ICU clinician, the facts of this case are notable for their ordinariness. This is obviously an unimaginably sad situation for the person and for the family involved, but this sort of clinical situation evolves every day in intensive care units around the country.
Seeing is Believing? Patient Videos in Life-Sustaining Treatment Disputes
“The dispute about RS’s treatment spread well beyond his treating team and his family. It spilled out from the bedside to the courts and into the public domain and then back again through the legal system (including the Court of Protection, the Court of Appeal, and the European Court of Human Rights). There were many powerful forces at play, and a huge clash of religious and cultural values. The persuasive power of video was a crucial lightening rod in how the story played out.”
A life worth living? The importance of advance decisions
I joined the hearing expecting to come out of it with an increased understanding and experience of the law in this area, which would complement my studies. However, to my surprise, I left with an increased personal awareness of the importance discussing these often ‘taboo’ and topical subjects.
Treatment for testicular cancer for autistic learning disabled man
By Celia Kitzinger, 3rd March 2021 There was a positive outcome to the hearing before Mrs Justice Lieven on Wednesday 27th January 2021. After listening to evidence from the treating clinicians and an independent expert consultant in oncology, the Trust and the mother of “RB” (as he is called in the court documents) came to anContinue reading “Treatment for testicular cancer for autistic learning disabled man”
Observing my first hearing as a Year 12 student
“I’m a Year 12 student (aged 16) interested in studying Law at university but I’m not able to get any work experience due to the pandemic, so observing a Court of Protection hearing was a great opportunity. ..”
Ethical complexity in a life-sustaining treatment case
By Bonnie Venter, 23rd February 2021 Editorial Notes: (1) A tweet thread about the hearing is available here. (2) The judgment has been published here. (3) A different perspective on the same hearing (by Bridget Penhale) has been published here. There are moments in life that cause a monumental shift in who we used to be and who we areContinue reading “Ethical complexity in a life-sustaining treatment case”
Treatment withdrawal in the ICU when clinicians and family disagree
By Bridget Penhale, 22nd February 2021 Editorial note: The judgment has been published here. When I logged into this hearing (COP 13712297, before Mr Justice Hayden) on the afternoon of Wednesday 10thFebruary 2021, I discovered it had been listed as an urgent matter relating to medical decisions about TW, a 50-year-old man with a catastrophicContinue reading “Treatment withdrawal in the ICU when clinicians and family disagree”
The Prologue to a Life Story
By Rebecca Poz, 18th February 2021 I have attended court before, both in person pre-Covid, and remotely in 2020. I have attended Magistrate’s Court, Crown Courts, the Court of Protection and the High Court, as well as Fitness to Practice Hearings, but I have only ever attended as an Expert Witness, and once as aContinue reading “The Prologue to a Life Story”
Who is to blame if the COVID-19 vaccination causes harm to P?
Bridget Penhale, 16 February 2021 Editorial notes: (1) For a different perspective on this same case, check out the earlier blog post by Bonnie Venter here. (2) The judgment has now been published SD v Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea [2021] EWCOP 14 (10 February 2021) I attended the hearing on C-19 vaccination (COPContinue reading “Who is to blame if the COVID-19 vaccination causes harm to P?”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 