Four Members of Chambers appear in case regarding the diagnosis and declaration of death
12th December 2025
Over a three-week period, four members of Chambers have appeared in R (A Child). Described by the Court of Appeal as “utterly heartbreaking” the case concerned whether a 12-year-old child receiving intensive care in hospital should be declared dead. Four urgent hearings were held in three weeks starting in the High Court on 7 November.
On 19 November, the Court of Appeal set aside the first-instance decision, due to procedural unfairness, after accepting a key ground of appeal that:
- the hearing was procedurally unfair because R’s parents (who were not legally represented) had no feasible opportunity to read the medical records, understand the legal issues, adduce evidence, or prepare to question witnesses, when the urgency did not preclude an adjournment.
Although the Court of Appeal dd not agree that the child should have been joined as a party and represented by CAFCASS “as the court was not engaged in a best interests decision” the case was then sent back to the High Court. Hayden J reached a final decision on 27 November 2025, declaring the child to be dead [2025] EWHC 3140. The Court of Appeal developed the principles established in Re A (Withdrawal of Treatment: Legal Representation) [2022] EWCA Civ 1221; [2023] 1 FLR 713, a case in which David Lawson also appeared.
Claire Watson KC, represented Barts Health NHS Trust, instructed by Bevan Brittan LLP.
The child’s parents were represented by Katie Gollop KC, Bridget Dolan KC, and David Lawson each at different stages of the application, all instructed by Irwin Mitchell.
For the judgments, please see here and here.
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