When private counselling is a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act? – No. 5 Chambers

‘The case of Crofts Vets and others v Butcher 2013 UKEAT/0430/12/LA and UKEAT/0562/12/LA is perhaps an unusual but important illustration of how far the duty to make reasonable adjustments under disability discrimination legislation goes (now Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010).’

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No. 5 Chambers, 4th December 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Pregnant woman with ‘very severe’ mental health problems could be forced to have Caesarean – The Independent

Posted December 12th, 2013 in birth, Court of Protection, medical treatment, mental health, news by sally

‘A pregnant woman with “very severe” mental health problems could be forcibly sedated and have her baby delivered via Caesarean section against her will if the need arose, a High Court Judge has ruled.’

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The Independent, 11th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Man who tried to commit suicide by running into wall loses damages case over broken spine – The Independent

Posted December 11th, 2013 in damages, deportation, detention, immigration, mental health, news, personal injuries, suicide by sally

‘A man who broke his spine when he tried to commit suicide by running head first into a concrete wall while in detention awaiting deportation has lost his High Court damages action.’

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The Independent, 11th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Secret courts: couple tell of their struggle to adopt granddaughter – Daily Telegraph

‘Grandparents of child taken into care by Essex County Council tell of their anguish at not having legal rights to be her guardian.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Royal Marine seeks to overturn conviction for murder – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 10th, 2013 in appeals, armed forces, mental health, murder, news, sentencing by tracey

‘Lawyers for Royal Marine convicted of murder will launch an appeal against his conviction.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (MM and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mind and others intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted December 9th, 2013 in appeals, benefits, equality, law reports, mental health, tribunals by sally

Regina (MM and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mind and others intervening) [2013] EWCA Civ 1565 ; [2013] WLR (D) 469

‘The current process for assessing eligibility for employment and support allowance by way of a questionnaire and face-to-face interview placed mental health patients at a substantial disadvantage compared with other claimants. The Secretary of State therefore was under a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make a reasonable adjustment to accommodate them.’

WLR Daily, 4th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Continued detention pending removal of failed asylum seeker on hunger strike not unlawful – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that the secretary of state for the Home Department had the power to detain an immigration detainee in hospital to ensure that he received appropriate medical treatment pending his removal from the United Kingdom.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The mother, the C-section baby and ‘secret British court’: a secrecy scandal – or the birth of a scare story? – The Independent

‘The first grim details published about Alessandra Pacchieri’s brief stay in Britain were, as one commentator put it, “the stuff of nightmares”.
Over the past few days, however, a different story has emerged. Transcripts of judgments relating to the case have now been made public and they reveal the nuances behind the apparently callous decisions of judges.’

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The Independent, 6th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sickness benefits legal challenge to continue – BBC News

‘Two people with mental health problems can continue their challenge against government tests for sickness benefit, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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BBC News, 4th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge who ordered mentally ill pregnant woman to undergo Caesarian birth insists that decision was in her best interests – The Independent

Posted December 5th, 2013 in birth, judgments, medical treatment, mental health, news by sally

‘The judge who ordered a mentally ill pregnant woman to undergo a Caesarian section instead of a natural birth insisted that it was in her best interests.’

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The Independent, 4th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Man who beheaded flatmate with cleaver is jailed for life – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2013 in diminished responsibility, homicide, mental health, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man with paranoid schizophrenia who beheaded a flatmate with a cleaver after he “disappeared” from the mental health care system has been jailed for life.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Forced” C-section case – what we know now – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Reports of a C-section being forcibly carried out on a woman that came to light in the mainstream press this past weekend have quickly made international news.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd December 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Forced caesarean was carried out ‘because of risks to mother and child’ – The Guardian

‘The council at the centre of a row over an Italian woman who was given a forced caesarean section and then had her baby taken from her said the decision was taken over concerns about the “risks to mother and child”.’

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Child taken from womb by social services – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 2nd, 2013 in birth, care orders, mental health, news, social services by sally

‘Essex social services have obtained a court order against a woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and for her child to be taken from her womb by caesarean section.’

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Daily Telegraph, 30th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Chinese businessman found guilty of murdering family of four in ‘revenge’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 28th, 2013 in complaints, costs, diminished responsibility, mental health, murder, news, police, trials by tracey

‘A Chinese businessman who massacred a family of four by stabbing them to death in a “cold-blooded” revenge attack after losing a court battle with them has been found guilty of murder.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tenerife killer’s Glan Clwyd Hospital care faces inquiry – BBC News

Posted November 25th, 2013 in dangerous driving, hospitals, inquiries, mental health, news by tracey

‘An inquiry is to be held into how a man with paranoid schizophrenia was released from a Denbighshire hospital only to murder a woman in Tenerife.’

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BBC News, 25th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Man freed as Parkinson’s disease drug made him expose himself – Daily Telegraph

“The ‘hard-working and respectable family man’ exposed himself due to the effect of drugs he was taking.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Mental impairment. How does the employer know? Cox v Essex County Fire and Rescue Service – 13 KBW Employment

“When facing a reasonable adjustments claim one of the first lines of defence for an employer is knowledge. An employer can avail itself of the defence of lack of knowledge of the disability (s.20 of Sch 8 of the Equality Act 2010) if it did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the person had a disability. The defence is an impenetrable shield and often forms a key battleground at trial.”

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13 KBW Employment, 18th November 2013

Source: www.13kbwemployment.wordpress.com

‘Update law on child cruelty’: Family experts demand changes to increase protection for minors – The Independent

Posted November 18th, 2013 in child cruelty, mental health, news, police, psychiatric damage, statistics by sally

“Emotional cruelty to children should be made illegal, according to almost 70 per cent of police officers in England and Wales.”

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The Independent, 17th November 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Concern over mental health detentions by police in Wales – BBC News

Posted November 15th, 2013 in detention, mental health, news, police, Wales by tracey

“Calls have been made for a reduction in the number of people taken into police custody with mental health problems.”

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BBC News, 15th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk