What is a Lancashire Finding in Care Proceedings

Where a child has suffered an injury and the cause of this injury is unknown, the Family Court may decide that a Fact Finding Hearing is necessary to hear the evidence available. The Court will hear evidence from all parties involved in the case and in some cases medical experts to see if the Judge can determine who caused the injury to the child and whether or not the injury was non-accidental.

The pool of perptrators

Any person who could have possibly caused the injury to the child will be considered to be in the “pool of perpetrators”. In determining who to place in the “pool”, consideration will need to be given as to whether there is a real possibility that the person was involved rather than whether the person could be excluded. Each person who is considered to be in the “pool” will be able to put their case forward to resist findings being made against them and to deny any involvement or responsibility for causing the injuries. However, they are not expected to defend themselves beyond reasonable doubt which is the burden of proof in Criminal cases.

A ‘Lancashire’ Finding decision

A ‘Lancashire’ Finding is made when the Judge is unable to determine from the pool of perpetrators whether one person is more likely than the other to have caused the injuries to the child. The Judge has to consider the risk posed by any person in the pool of perpetrators if they cannot be excluded from having caused the injury. If a ‘Lancashire’ Finding is made then the Court is effectively determining that there is a “real possibility” that the person is the perpetrator but they cannot definitively say that the person has caused the injuries to the child.

In cases where a ‘Lancashire’ Finding is made against a person, this does not necessarily mean that they will definitely be ruled out from caring for future children. These findings, like any findings of fact can be used in any subsequent proceedings to determine if a future child is likely to suffer significant harm; cases will however be dealt with on a case by case basis.

If your child has suffered an injury and you have Local Authority involvement then please contact us on 0116 2554855 to discuss how we may be able to assist you with any children and local authority issues. Our Care team has extensive experience in dealing with cases where there have been injuries to a child and assisting client’s through care proceedings.