Year: 2020

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.