Lawyer leader mandates lethal accident investigations for all those children who pass away while in
- selecthealthcarebl
- May 19, 2015
- 3 min read
THE head of a primary lawyers’ business has demanded a fatal accident query (FAI) to be mandatory in the event a child passes away in residential care.
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James Wolffe, dean of the Faculty of Advocates, is going to put his discussion to MSPs today on Holyrood’s justice board which is examining planned changes to the active method of looking at surprising fatalities.
The Enquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Bill proposes that an inquiry ought to only be required if a child has died whilst in a secure residential unit, however in a submission to the panel Wolffe stated every death of a child in the care of the state should right away be subject to an FAI.
Retired senior judge Lord Cullen of Whitekirk fabricated this testimonial in his analysis of FAI law, that processed the idea of the legislation currently going through Holyrood, and Wolffe said it ought to be integrated in the Bill.
“Lord Cullen’s suggestions about this concern needs to be implemented in whole by including within the obligatory categories deaths of children being preserved in residential institutions,” stated Wolffe whom recognized Cullen’s proposition that a FAI really should not be compulsory if a child died whilst in foster care or whilst being cared for by family.
“In its July 2014 consultation paper the Government drew a distinction in this context around children looked after in residential housing that is not secure lodging and those in secure housing, particularly that residential organizations can't hold children against their will.
“We do not consider that variance is completely convincing to warrant departing from Lord Cullen’s guideline.”
He added: “Lord Cullen believed that the separating line relating to cases where an FAI must be obligatory with regards to children in care should exclude youngsters in kinship or foster care, but may include youngsters in residential establishments. We share his view that this is the relevant division.”
An FAI took place in 2011 into the fatalities of Neve Lafferty, 15, and Georgie Rowe, 14, who leaped to their demise off the Erskine Bridge in a dual suicide shortly after running away from their residential dwelling in October 2009.
The girls, both equally from troubled and disturbed family backgrounds, had a reputation of self-harm, attempted suicide and heavy alcohol and drug abuse, including heroin use and excessive alcohol consumption.
The sheriff’s succeeding statement greatly slated the Good Shepherd Centre in Bishopton, where they resided in an open unit, for neglecting to safeguard them.
Nevertheless under the current plans such an FAI will not be required as the young ladies were in an open unit.
Under the current law only fatalities in custody and at work need to be susceptible to an FAI and it is up to the Lord Advocate if an FAI is held into the death of a young child in care.
Wolffe agreed with the majority of the other recommendations in the Bill, which include provisions to hold FAIs into Scottish residents who have passed away overseas.
He also supported plans to have specialist sheriffs hear FAIs, taking them away from the hands of the more junior summary sheriffs, but he pointed out concerns that this move may mean extended waits for families of the deceased - amongst the main problems the proposals wanted to address.
Wolffe suggested in his submission: “The faculty takes into account that there is merit in the power to employ “specialist” sheriffs in FAIs. The faculty has some concern regarding the usage of summary sheriffs in FAIs. Although this permits for flexibility - and could assist in the objective of securing that queries will be held in a timely manner, the usage of summary sheriffs would seem to run counter to the suggestion for “specialist” sheriffs.
“Given the limited legislation of summary sheriffs, there might be a belief that an inquiry before a summary sheriff is being treated with less importance than an inquiry before a non-summary sheriff.”
FAIs are a cornerstone of the Scots court procedure and were brought in in 1895. They are fact-finding exercises completed in the general public interest into some non-suspicious abnormal deaths to locate any faults in procedure.
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