A baby was taken away from his parents for six months after a 2.5cm bruise was discovered on his body that wasn’t their fault.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was removed from the care of the couple after they were wrongly suspected of hurting the infant.
But the baby was eventually returned to his parents after it emerged they were not to blame for the mark, and that medical tests used to justify the child’s removal had been conducted improperly.
The Cardiff family court case ceased after it was discovered that the 2.5cm bruise was more consistent with mild von Willebrand disease – a condition which can make bruising or bleeding occur more easily – than injury.
The parents said the court case had been “traumatic” and blamed a “one size fits all” approach for the ordeal.
Shortly after the baby was born, a routine visit was carried out by a student health practitioner who raised concern over a 2.5cm bruise to the baby’s lower rib area, Wales Online reported.
After the parents were unable to give an exact explanation for the bruise, a child protection medical was carried out by a Cardiff and Vale health board GP.
The “significant bruise to the chest wall” was found to be “unusual” for rolling over a toy, which the parents had suggested may have caused the mark.
A 1.5cm darker green/blue area within the 2.5cm bruise was found to be “highly concerning for non-accidental injury”.
‘Clotting disorder’
Within days, Vale of Glamorgan council had removed the baby from his parents and placed him in the care of other family members, with the parents only allowed to visit under supervision.
The council then applied for a care order to give it parental responsibility for the child, citing the bruise as the sole basis for the application.
District Judge Julian Hussell approved an interim care order and adjourned the case for the baby to be assessed by a consultant paediatrician, who cast doubt on Cardiff and Vale health board’s initial child protection medical.
The paediatrician wrote in his report that the baby’s initial blood tests and examination were “not carried out as recommended by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to exclude a bleeding or clotting disorder”.
He concluded that the torso bruise was likely to have been accidental and that it could have been caused by the bar of a pram catching the baby as he was being placed in it.
Following this report, and around five months without their child, the parents applied for the case to be dismissed.
However Judge Hussell did not dismiss the case after claiming it was not “obvious” the council would fail to meet the criteria for a care order, instead adjourning for blood tests which he noted “should have been undertaken” earlier.
Withdraw application
The tests were indicative of mild von Willebrand disease, and he concluded the baby was likely to have a borderline bleeding tendency.
The council accepted it was unable to prove the bruise was caused by inadequate care and asked the judge for permission to withdraw its application for a care order.
James Lewis, the council’s barrister, conceded that from the outset of the case “the medical evidence was not very firm”.
He added: “I have to say, I cannot imagine the strain these proceedings have put on the mother and father and the family as a whole. It is clear they love their son dearly and want to be reunified with him.”
Vale of Glamorgan council and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board were contacted for comment.
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