Anya Lewis and Emma Fenn of Garden Court Chambers have secured the acquittal of a father accused of causing or allowing alleged injuries to his daughter, said to have been the result of “Shaken Baby Syndrome”.
Complex medical evidence was considered in this case with experts from the fields of neurosurgery, radiology, neuro-pathology, histo-pathology and endocrinology.
The baby suffered from a severe vitamin D deficiency, which the defence experts said could have explained the findings in her metaphysis. The case once again raises the importance of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy in the context of a recent surge in infants with rickets.
The case was particularly unusual due to the complete absence of the triad of injuries usually relied upon in cases where shaking is alleged, as well as the alleged injuries being wholly asymptomatic and in circumstances where they would have resolved, and did resolve, without medical intervention.
The father, known as JS, was acquitted on 9 February 2017 after a four-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Garden Court continues to act in the most serious cases where injuries to children are alleged. The crime and family teams have a number of practitioners who specialise in this complex and constantly evolving area of medicine and law.
Anya Lewis and Emma Fenn were instructed by Anna Podolska and Neville Gray of FMW Law. They are both members of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.
