Can a non accidental injury accusation be over turned If the case is not getting taken to court .

[Sunrise]

My nearly 6 week old baby was found to have a bruise on his arm . I couldn't give a definite explanation on how it was caused but gave possibility, I might have banged it while carrying him around , I have a 4 year old who may have grabbed baby ect.
At the end of all the investigations nothing else was found to be concerning but they deemed the bruise non accidental. The case was never taken to court as there was no other concerns.

I hate the fact it was deemed non accidental as I know me or my partner have definite not hurt baby on purpose, and there was no other person ever left alone or had the opportunity to hurt baby.
There was absolutely no evidence to suggest this eas done purposely.

So my question is , is there a way to get a second opinion or get the non accidental title over turned.

I may add the Dr carrying out the child protection medical has continues lied throughout this process and not shared vital information with me as a mother ( with 100% parental rights)

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Sunrise

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie. I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser.

I am sorry to hear that your young baby had a bruise on his arm which has been treated as a non-accidental injury . I understand how distressing and concerning this is when you don’t know how it happened. You did put forward some reasonable explanations about what could have caused the bruise. I can see that the whole process has been quite traumatic and very worrying for you.

You explain that following investigation, the only concern was this injury to your baby which the professionals concluded was non-accidental. You say that the paediatrician lied throughout the process. And failed to share important information with you as a parent with parental responsibility. I understand how difficult child protection medicals and processes are, especially when concerning a young baby. However, it is serious to say that a doctor lied throughout. In a child protection process, parents are not invited to attend strategy meetings where information is shared between processionals. So there may be some information that is withheld from parents as part of the professionals’ information sharing process during child protection enquiries. But of course, most information should be shared with a child’s parent and caregiver. If you remain very concerned about the doctor’s conduct then you can get advice about making a complaint from PALs or a specialist solicitor. The Information Commissioner can advise on data protection and information sharing.

It is good to hear that your baby’s case did not result in care proceedings. You don’t say what children’s services’ recommendation was when their assessment ended e.g. whether there was a child protection plan made or a child in need plan.

Your query is about whether you can get the non-accidental injury decision overturned. I am not sure if you mean the medical view, or a decision or plan made by children’s services. You would need to consult with a doctor to get a second medical opinion or get advice from PALS etc as mentioned earlier.

I can only advise more fully on children’s services. One thing to remember is that children’s services look at the balance of probability when assessing risks.

You can disagree with a children’s services plan or decision and have your disagreement noted on your baby’s record. And you can consider making a complaint if you want to formally challenge. There are different ways to do this depending on whether you are involved in a child in need process or want to complain about a child protection investigation or whether there is a child protection plan in place and you want to challenge that decision.

Please this link here to how to make a complaint.

Please see this link here to how to make a complaint about a child protection conference. We also have a template letter (2) to help parents who wish to complain about a child protection conference here .

I hope that this is helpful.

I know that you have been through an emotional and difficult time. It may be a good idea for you to call our freephone advice line to talk through the situation in more detail with an adviser who can then give you more targeted advice. The freephone number is 0808 8010366 and the line are open from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm, Mon to Fri (except bank holidays).

If you prefer, you can post back on this forum with any queries about children’s services or use one of the advice options listed here.

Best wishes

Suzie