Being accused of NAI

[Devistated mum]

Care proceedings began when I brought my son to a&e because of a swollen arm. His arm was found to be broken and further examination took place such as a skeletal survey and CT scan. This revealed he also had fractures to 5 ribs on one side and ‘possible’ fractures to skull. I am the mother and I have no clue how these injuries occluded, therefore they are unexplained. My son was 9 months old at the time and very active, he was able to pull himself up and crawl and walk with a little help. Because of this the hospital suspected non accidental injury and involved police and social service where my son was then placed in foster care. Me and my sons dad was arrested for questioning. Proceedings had already began and I was still pregnant with my daughter at the time. I recently had my daughter and she has now joined my son in foster care. They both have an interim care order which has been accepted by the judge from local authorities request. I have not hurt my son and he has only been cared for by me, his dad, my sister and my mum.. people who love him very much and would never think of hurting him. I am desperate to have my kids back and it’s so hard as they believe someone has hurt my son when they have not. A first independent expert has reported back agreeing with the fractures the hospital have said. He says ‘at least 5 applicants of excessive force’ has been done to cause the injuries. I am trying to appoint an independent expert to help as they have not looked much into a health condition or genetic condition as being the leading cause. I’m so scared of what’s going to happen.. i have complied with everything and having FGC on the 24th august. (Loads of family and friends will be present). Also our parenting assessment starts soon. The contacts notes are very positive and it says Me and dad interact well with the kids and tending to their needs. I have not missed one contact with my children. any help or advice would be much appreciated.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Devistated mum,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say in your post that you took your son to A&E because of a swollen arm. Your son's arm was found to be broken and further examination showed fractures to 5 ribs on one side and ‘possible’ fractures to skull. You say you do not know how these injuries occurred. The hospital suspect these are non-accidental injuries and care proceedings have now been initiated, with your son being placed in foster care under an interim care order. Both you and your son's father were questioned by police. Since then, you have also given birth to your daughter, who is also now in foster care. You say that you have not hurt your son and neither has anyone else who has cared for him. An independent expert has agreed that the fractures were caused by excessive force. You are waiting to start your parenting assessment and an FGC is due to take place. You say contact is going well, but you are worried about what is going to happen next.

Firstly, I am sorry to hear about the situation your children and family are in - it is clearly very upsetting and frightening.

Your son has suffered significant injuries and because of this, children's services have initiated care proceedings. During this time, a number of assessments will be carried out and at the end of the proceedings, the judge will look at all the available evidence and make a decision as to whether your children can return home or whether they will need to be cared for by someone else. A big part of this will be forming a conclusion on how your son sustained these injuries and who may have caused them if they were non-accidental. So far, the medical experts have assessed them to be non-accidental. Have the medical experts considered whether any underlying conditions may have contributed to the fractures? If not, you may want to speak to your solicitor about how you can ask the court for permission to instruct an expert who can assess this.

It is likely that the judge will hold a fact-finding hearing. This means that they will look at the evidence to make a decision as to how the injuries came about. I cannot tell you what the outcome of this fact-finding here will be. This is an exceptionally sensitive matter and I would encourage you to consider that, whilst it is distressing to think anyone in your family may have hurt your son, you cannot fully attest to their actions at times when you may not have been present. If the judge does find that you did not cause the injuries, but someone else did, the local authority will expect you to show insight into this risk and to evidence that you would be able to keep your children safe in the future.

It is positive to hear that a family group conference is going to be held and it is important that you put forward family/friends to be assessed as alternative carers. Some of the people you want to put forward may be in the pool of perpetrators and therefore may only be assessed following the fact-finding hearing.

I would encourage you to continue engaging in all parts of the looked after and child protection processes, including contact with your children, which you say is going well.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie.