Category: Supporting individuals in crisis

An accident turned Jaden’s world upside down, but now he’s learning how to help others recover.

Jaden Payne’s world revolved around sport. However, a few years ago, a road traffic accident threatened his future and suddenly stopped him from doing what he loved. Serious head injuries led to months in hospital, lying in a bed attached to tubes and wires. Jaden’s prognosis was poor, and his chances of returning to sport seemed non-existent.

 

At Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), we act on behalf of Jaden in the road traffic collision claim. While his case isn’t finished, our team have managed to secure the support Jaden needed throughout his focused recovery, rehabilitation and return to sport. With specialist tailor-made therapy and support programmes in place, we’ve watched him progress in leaps and bounds.

 

Life after his injury

After his injury, the future was uncertain for Jaden. Now, thanks to specialist support and sheer determination on his part, and that of his parents, he hopes to be able to reset his goals and maximise his potential. Next on his agenda is achieving his degree in sports rehabilitation.

 

“The Child Brain Injury Trust and Anthony Collins Solicitors have supported me on my journey allowing me to get to university today. I am studying sport rehabilitation as I’m an aspiring physiotherapist, which I hope to do at a master’s level. I want to get back to the children’s hospital, working on ward 10 where I was treated.”

Client testimonial, Jaden Payne

 

A big ambition

The charity Make-A-Wish gives children and young people living with a critical condition the chance to turn their dreams into reality. For Jaden, this ambition is to meet his hero, Usain Bolt. While Make-A-Wish couldn’t make this happen, the charity arranged for Jaden to meet another sports champion, Hannah Cockroft MBE – British wheelchair racer, world record holder and winner of multiple gold medals from the Paralympics.

 

After appearing in a promotional video for Make-A-Wish, Jaden and Hannah were interviewed by ITV news. The pair shared how the charity’s work led to them meeting and how Jaden will continue to do what he loves, despite his injuries.

 

As a result of this, Jaden’s story reached thousands of people nationwide and touched the hearts of many. There was one kind lady in particular who contacted Make a Wish to say she had a special gift for Jaden – a signed photo of Usain Bolt. Although calling it a ‘photo’ is a bit of an understatement as it’s so big it took two men to deliver it. While it’s still not quite the real thing, it’s a possession he’ll treasure forever.

 

Reaching out to others

During his recovery, Jaden has felt it’s important for him to educate others and help young adults who face similar challenges. While he was at college, he would regularly give presentations to peers and teachers on acquired brain injuries, recognising they are often misunderstood.

 

When the pandemic put a pause on his studies, Jaden saw his spare time as an opportunity to reach more people. He focussed on his own lockdown project – a blog. This became a small corner of the internet where he could share his story with people from all walks of life and explain the challenges he faces as a result of his brain injury.

Impressive progress at university

In September 2021, Jaden returned to university. Without our help securing him one to one buddy support and a specialist case manager, this would have been impossible. They help overcome challenges he faces as a result of his injury, such as navigating his way around campus and exploring London safely. He recently sat his first exam and passed with flying colours, achieving an impressive mark of 78/100.

 

The ACS team continue to support Jayden on his journey. Moving to London away from his family has been a huge step for him and we’re all so proud of how far he’s come. And we hope one day his dream of meeting his hero Usain Bolt will come true too.

 

“Despite everything he’s faced, Jaden is a really happy, smiley person. We’re so proud of how far he’s come. He now has the specialist support he needs to reach his potential post-injury which is really rewarding to see and we look forward to supporting him in the future as he goes through his university years and beyond.”
Rankeshwar Batta, head of clinical negligence and personal injury, Anthony Collins Solicitors

A last-ditch effort to help the family of a woman with complex care needs apply for a welfare order.

Sophie* has learning disabilities and is cared for by a wide variety of medical teams who don’t always have access to her full, complex history. Her brother and his wife had been by her side for years – until recently when they found themselves being excluded from decision making. Without the couple’s familiarity with Sophie’s needs, the care home and various medical professionals were starting to make mistakes.

 

Looking for a solution, they had come across welfare orders and contacted the team at Anthony Collins Solicitors for help applying.

Tempering expectations

Before we took on the case, we wanted to make sure the clients knew just how rare a personal welfare order is. The order gives the welfare deputy such broad powers over another person’s life that it’s only granted in exceptional circumstances. Even then it’s usually granted to a parent for a child, rather than for siblings as in this case.

 

Fortunately for Mr and Mrs M, we have experience of personal welfare orders and know what is and isn’t needed in the application. After learning the full situation, we felt this case had a better-than-usual chance of success.

Gathering the evidence

A common mistake when putting together applications like this is simply providing the court with too much information to take in. The clients had years of medical history in thousands of documents. We picked out the information that the judge would need to see to make an informed decision and showed how a personal welfare order would be in Sophie’s best interests.

 

Five months later, we had passed both stages of the application and the court orders came through. The clients were delighted that they can once again act as Sophie’s voice. Now they can make decisions on her behalf, like where she should live, what medical treatment she should consent to and which activities she can do.

 

“We commend you for the work you have put into the success of this, as we were well aware that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Client testimonial from Mr and Mrs M

 

* Client name has been changed

When a mother turned to us for support, we made sure her suffering was acknowledged.

Stigma and shame still surround domestic abuse. At Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), we often meet people who are a shell of their former selves due to their experiences of domestic abuse. But, as we represent them and their voices are heard, we see them transform and thrive as they create a new life for themselves.

 

In one case, a mother turned to us for support after being let down by her previous solicitors. Lack of client care meant she had drafted her original statement about serious allegations against her children’s father with little guidance or input.

 

Redrafting her statement

The mother was understandably anxious about the future and the safety of her children, so the ACS team got to work right away. This involved asking the court for permission to redraft key documents and submit further witness statements. Without doing this, a fact-finding hearing wouldn’t have taken place and her allegations would have been swept under the carpet.

 

We helped the mother draft a second statement to add vital details, making sure her lived experience would be accurately put before the court. At the same time, we also juggled the divorce petition made by the father and received extensive police disclosure which included confirmation of the father pleading guilty to two charges of assault by beating perpetrated against the mother. He also pleaded guilty to two further charges of harassment – breaching a restraining order – for which he was subsequently sentenced.

 

The father denied the allegations made by the mother over and above those he plead guilty to and the process continued with a number of hearings taking place.

 

A breakthrough

In the pre-trial hearing, the father still insisted the mother wasn’t telling the truth, so a trial date was set. Due to Covid-19 and other delays, the mother had to wait seven months for this, living with the anxiety of having to provide oral evidence in court.

 

After months of overthinking and worry, the day of the fact-finding hearing arrived. However, at court, the father’s barrister informed us he was willing to admit almost all the allegations (except two) including threatening the mother with a weapon and separate threats of attacking her with acid.

Refusing to back down

The client had a big decision to make – would she go to trial for the two allegations he denied? Admitting the other allegations would be enough to protect her and her children, but she wanted the father and the court to acknowledge her experience. Even if it meant going through the gruelling process of giving evidence and being cross-examined.

 

It was only when the father faced this reality that he admitted all allegations. Perhaps he thought the mother would back down as she had in the past, but her strength to move forward revealed the truth.

A safe future for her children

Following a report from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, it was decided that the children should live with the mother. The father would only be allowed indirect contact (letters or cards) every six months.

 

Now the mother and her children are safe. Although matrimonial finances still need to be sorted, they have been able to move on and start afresh.

 

“I was willing to sit and listen to her which she appreciated. I never made any judgment. I asked her questions in a way that never made her feel criticised or minimised – sometimes there might be a reason they hadn’t disclosed certain details before. Domestic survivors want a champion – and we fight for them.”
Kadie Bennett, associate, Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

“Kadie Bennett and the team at ACS have provided the most impressive service with extremely high standards of professionalism. After being let down by my previous solicitor, I lost all faith and felt so let down. Kadie restored this faith back in me and she completely strengthened my case and achieved the end goal with outstanding results. I was able to open up to Kadie and talk freely with her about what I had been through and at no point I felt judged. The impact that it has had on me and my children has been immense, we feel a lot safer and can now lead a near-normal life. I cannot thank Kadie and her team enough for all their endless hard work and dedication for which I am forever grateful.”
Client testimonial

When his son was taken into care, Tom* had one goal – to get his child back.

Society’s stereotypes mean people make false assumptions. It’s often only when you scratch beneath the surface that you see the bigger picture. This was the case with a father called Tom.

 

Tom had a turbulent relationship with the mother of his child. Over the years, they’d been stuck in a cycle of being together and breaking up, the pair’s alcohol and drug misuse causing a rift in their relationship. There were also reports of physical and emotional abuse – Tom was wrongly accused of being the perpetrator.

 

Protecting the child

Everything came to a head when the couple decided to take their son on a day trip to Blackpool in Spring 2020. Tom and his partner had an argument, which led to Tom walking away to cool off. He later agreed to meet her back at the train station to travel home together.

 

But, when he arrived at the train station, she was nowhere to be seen. Tom soon discovered why – the police had found her heavily intoxicated with their child in tow and empty vodka bottles in the pram. Unsurprisingly the police protected their son, immediately placing him into foster care.

 

Determined to change

Tom turned to the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team with one goal – to get his son back. However, despite the mother’s behaviour, it was clear everybody assumed he was the problem.

 

We sat down with Tom and explained his options moving forward. This started with knocking his bad habits on the head, including dealing with his alcohol and substance misuse and finding alternative, healthier coping mechanisms. Tom listened to our advice and turned his life around, changing his behaviour and finding a flat of his own.

 

A disappointing assessment

At the initial hearing, the local authority didn’t support returning the child to the mother and was equally unsupportive of placing the child with Tom. The social worker had taken allegations made by the mother against him at face value and discounted Tom as a carer for his son.

 

Delays due to Covid-19 meant the initial parenting assessments weren’t filed until September 2020. In the intervening period, drug and alcohol tests confirmed the mother was still abusing substances but showed Tom was clean. However, irrespective of his changes, there were concerns this was a honeymoon blip and his parenting assessment was negative. The outcome would be to place the child with family or up for adoption.

Becoming a full-time sole carer

But Tom was determined and refused to give up. He proved he was capable of the day-to-day aspects of childcare, including finding a nursery for his son so he could carry on working. The ACS team challenged the negative assessment on his behalf.

 

After reluctance on behalf of the local authority, another assessment took place. This assessment recommended that Tom Jnr was placed with his father. The result everyone was hoping for after he managed to turn his life around.

 

Tom Jnr is now living in the full-time sole care of his father and the plan is for the child to remain in his care under a Child Arrangements Order.

 

“This is one of those cases where without the experience and expertise of what you’re dealing with, you’re not going to be able to make a judgment call based on the evidence and challenge it to get the best outcome for the child.”
Paul Nursall, legal assistant, Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

*not our client’s real name

Our private legal services team take a holistic approach to resolving cases that looks beyond the outcome.

Our private legal services help individuals navigate a range of challenges. We support individuals on a range of legal issues from the devastating consequences of personal injury and clinical negligence, to relationship breakdown or managing the affairs of those who lack capacity.

Whatever the potential outcome, our goal is always to make the individual’s needs the focus of our efforts so that they are at the centre of everything we do. We look beyond the obvious result to make sure our work supports our clients in every way.

For example, catastrophic injury caused by clinical negligence affects more than the patient who received the negligent treatment. Partners, children and wider families suffer too. Not to mention the cost to society. Which is why Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) focus on far more than just the compensation due in such tragic situations. Ours is a holistic approach that puts the client at the centre of our support.

One of our most serious cases involved a 44-year-old wife and mother. She was diagnosed with a cyst on the brain. She was told that if it wasn’t removed, she could go blind and that the only way to remove the cyst was through a craniotomy (removing part of her skull).

During the surgery, she sustained brain damage and a stroke. Delays in recognising her condition resulted in a further stroke. Our client was only able to return home six years later and has been bed-bound and fully wheelchair dependent since the injury. She has impaired vision and has only limited use of her right arm, so she is entirely dependent upon others for round-the-clock care and support.

However, after 11 years of hard-fought litigation and negotiation, we have been able to secure a multi-million-pound settlement for her that will go a long way to providing security and peace of mind for the future.

But the compensation is only part of the support we have been able to offer her and the family. We arranged much needed tailor-made rehabilitation and therapy and the support of a specialist brain injury case manager in the private sector. This not only allowed her to take important strides in reaching her potential and enhancing her quality of life but also taking away the burden placed on NHS services.

The impact of the negligence had also put a huge strain on the family as a whole. Social services became involved in relation to the care of their children and the family was temporarily broken up due to an intervention. We supported them through this terrible journey calling on different specialists in our private legal services team and the wider firm.

Her finances will now be managed by our deputyship team as she does not have the cognitive ability to manage her own funds. The monies will mean the family can pay off the debt they had accumulated and buy a property suitably adapted for their needs. They will also be able to afford the private care, support and therapies that will make a significant difference to her quality of life – and importantly provide a safe and happy home for their children.

Importantly the impact of this type of work has a wider relevance to society as a whole. By advising bodies on best practice, supporting individuals on complex challenges and offering a wide range of support, this in turn improves both public health and social care services as well as the outcomes for future cases and society at large.

ACS professionals teamed up in order to rid Mrs W’s home of rats and unsafe levels of hoarding.

Out of control hoarding. No working toilet. Rats everywhere. Mrs W, her husband and their daughter were living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Despite being a four-bed house, the family were confined to the lounge, where they all slept in armchairs.

District nurses regularly visited to check Mrs W and her daughter were correctly managing their diabetes. And it was only when the nurses refused to provide care, the extent of their situation became clear.

Facing a range of challenges

We initially began to act for Mrs W before the Court of Protection. Social services had stepped in and the family were separated, with Mrs W and her husband in one care home and their daughter placed at another.

Mrs W is diagnosed with dementia, her husband suffers from a degenerative disease and their daughter has a learning disability. All three family members lack capacity to make decisions about their welfare and finances. As a result of this, Mrs W and her family were not allowed to leave their respective care homes.

Mrs W contacted the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team as she wished to return home with her family. We issued an application in the Court of Protection to challenge Mrs W’s deprivation in the care home. The team also pushed social services to make robust plans for Mrs W to return home. However, due to the issues at the family home significant work was needed for this to happen.

Mrs W lacked capacity to manage her property and affairs, so no one had the legal authority to approve work on the house. Donna Holmes, partner at ACS, was appointed as deputy for Mrs W and the local authority were appointed for Mrs W’s husband.

A substantial council grant

Once deputies were appointed, contractors could be instructed. From buying new white goods to replacing electrics, the work was quoted at £15,000-£20,000. The ACS team were worried these significant costs would be a barrier to Mrs W and her family returning home. But, by working closely with the local authority, we secured a £15,000 grant and the work could begin.

ACS instructed a clearance company, then pest control allowing deep cleaning, gardening and other work to go ahead. During this time, ACS also worked hard in the welfare proceedings to make sure Mrs W and her daughter could go out into the community when they wanted to.

One step closer to returning home

The ACS team worked closely with a range of professionals, including social workers and the local pharmacy, to support this family. With the house clean and a robust care plan in place, they could return home safely. Mrs W and her daughter lived in their home on a trial basis before Christmas, and social services are now reassessing the situation.

Mrs W and her family have always lived together in their rural property, with their own way of life. Getting this family unit back together, respecting their values and beliefs while keeping them safe was essential.

Puja Desai, solicitor at ACS says;

“Cases like this are difficult as they’re very real. Seeing the condition of the property and knowing a family were living in those conditions was tough. But the reward you get for helping them is invaluable. To get a family back in their home is why I do my job.”

Puja Desai, solicitor at ACS

We often work with guardians to safeguard children. But, in this case, no one knew where the children were.

It’s not unusual for us to be instructed in an emergency. The Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team represent children via their guardian appointed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). However, this case dealt with different challenges.

While waiting for the court hearing to determine safety measures for the child, there was concern that the mother might flee the country with her child. An urgent hearing was requested, but the court refused. The day before the hearing, the mother boarded a flight with the child removing the child from the jurisdiction of the court instantly making it a case for the High Court.

Challenging circumstances

From here, we spent months working with the guardian to locate the child. With port alerts in place, we eagerly waited. Eventually, the local authority received an alert from the USA and evidence of the birth of a second child. While the mother was in hospital, a nurse had alerted the authorities and the case in the UK was flagged.

Following lengthy proceedings in the USA and complications around citizenship, both children were returned to the UK and placed in foster care. The judge concluded an injury sustained by the oldest child was inflicted by the parents. There had also been domestic violence between the couple and the children were at risk of harm.

No evidence. No court proceedings.

However, the mother stopped attending court and contact sessions with her two children. There were concerns expressed that she was pregnant with a third child, but both parents denied this. There was no evidence of the birth of a child so there was no basis to issue further court proceedings.

The police were unable to assist further, but the ACS team, the guardian and other professionals involved didn’t give up. The team were relieved when the parents were stopped near Gatwick airport with the baby, who was immediately taken into police protection.

Advocating for children

Madhur Sharma, ACS senior associate, says;

“Someone needs to advocate for children at court. In this case, they were very young children, we were their only independent voice about what is the right plan for them. Whether it’s going back to the care of their parents or adoption.”

Madhur Sharma, senior associate at ACS

The parents launched an appeal against the judge’s decision that the children should be adopted. Although this appeal has been allowed and the court is yet to determine the final plan for the children, the children are together, safe from harm and professionals know where they are.

We act for many people who lack mental capacity. But Mrs K’s behaviour made this case unusually challenging.

When does having a lot of possessions in your house become hoarding? And when is it a safety concern? There isn’t much case law around hoarding, and it’s debatable whether it should be classed as a mental disorder at all.

Mrs K had lost her husband and fell into a depression. Since her loss, her hoarding escalated, and neighbours and family had voiced their concerns to social services for a number of years. Eventually, the local authority made the decision to remove her from her home.

We were asked by the litigation friend, the Official Solicitor in Court of Protection proceedings, to represent Mrs K. She had been detained under the Mental Health Act. When she was discharged, the local authority wanted to prevent her from returning home, so needed the court to make welfare orders.

Consulting a hoarding expert

When the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team visited her in the care home, where she had been temporarily placed, it was clear she didn’t want to be there. She couldn’t weigh up the pros and cons of her situation and couldn’t understand why there was a problem.

Without our representation, the local authority were going to make decisions without understanding her hoarding disorder. To support her case, we called upon an expert in hoarding disorders. This expert identified medication issues could be causing psychotic symptoms and resulting in lack of capacity.

The local authority also made an application to be appointed as financial deputy. We had concerns about their proposals so suggested that a deputy at ACS, Donna Holmes, should be appointed instead. This meant we would be able to act in Mrs K’s best interests.

The fight for people’s freedom

After contracting Covid-19 in December, Mrs K’s health deteriorated quickly and she sadly passed away before getting the chance to move back home. However, our involvement meant her wishes and feelings were heard by the court and remained the focus of the proceedings.

Kirsty MacMillan, ACS associate, says;

“I love my job. We act for people where all these services have come in and disrupted their lives. They’ve taken their freedom away – potentially moving them out their home or stopping them from seeing people. Going into these cases you’re fighting for individuals to have their best life. And often, we have very positive outcomes. These people are understood and not forgotten”

Kirsty MacMillan, associate at ACS

An accident turned Jaden’s world upside down, but now he’s back on the athletic track doing what he loves.

Meeting a star

The charity Make-A-Wish gives children and young people living with a critical condition the chance to turn their dreams into reality. For Jaden, this ambition is to meet his hero, Usain Bolt. While Make-A-Wish couldn’t make this happen, they did arrange for Jaden to meet another sports champion, Hannah Cockroft MBE. Hannah is a British wheelchair racer, world record holder and winner of multiple gold medals from the Paralympics.

As a result of appearing in a promotional video for Make-A-Wish, Jaden and Hannah were interviewed by ITV news. The pair shared how the charity’s work led to them meeting and how Jaden will continue to do what he loves, despite his injuries.