Quote Mapletree at 09 Oct 2015 7.53pm

Bizarre that the adoption process was rushed through without awaiting the verdict. Also very strange nobody thought to check the obvious, that the child could have an underlying medical problem.

There must be more to this surely. Social Services hate taking children away from their natural parents.

Quote
Hodson, an expert in care and adoption cases and partner at legal firm Stephensons, said the chances of overturning an adoption was 'almost impossible'.

He told MailOnline that Ms Cox and Mr Carter's best hope would be through the Court of Appeal, on the basis that the adoption order should be overturned because new evidence had come to light.

But Mr Hodson said he would expect judges at the Court of Appeal to refer to a precedent set in 2009, relating to a similar case.

The court ruled that even though Norfolk couple Mark and Nicky Webster had been wrongly accused of abuse, leading to their three eldest children being taken into care and adopted, it was not in the children's best interests to reverse the order.

Mr Hodson said: 'It would seem this is one of those terrible situations where they [the Court of Appeal] is not going to reverse the order.

'In almost all cases adoption is final because as far as the law is concerned the adoptive parents are the child's legal guardians and the birth parents have no legal rights with the child at all.'

If the Court of Appeal refused to overturn the order there would be the opportunity for Ms Cox and Mr Carter to take their case to the Supreme Court and ultimately the European Court of Human Rights, Mr Hodson said, but he stressed that the latter in particular was unlikely to rule in the couple's favour.

Quote nickgusset at 09 Oct 2015 8.21pm

Absolute tragedy.
Bloke on radio 4 the other day that some doctors can sometimes be too keen to say abuse. He did concede that high profile cases of abuse make them extra cautious.
Damned if they do...

Quote rob1969 at 09 Oct 2015 8.38pm

Understand the original bruising etc on baby now considered possibly the result of a medical condition.
If that true then no doubt the same bruising etc., will have now occurred on the baby while with the adopted parents. Simple check would prove whether the original decision was correct - or not.
Seems obvious to me!

Quote Stirlingsays at 10 Oct 2015 3.12am

The genetic link between child and parents far exceeds adoptive parents if you have a safe choice between the two.

Adoption is important but it isn't the same as the fifty percent linkage a parent has with their child.

With no violence or threat to a child it really needs to be with its parents.

This case is horrendous and unforgivable.

Quote Seth at 10 Oct 2015 12.09pm

I agree. The parents should get their child back, and quickly. Problem is these things can take time and the longer it goes on the more disruption there will be to the child.

Reminds me of a case where babies were accidentally swapped in hospital, and grew up with the "wrong" parents. They were in their teens (IIRC) when the mistake was discovered, meaning no easy outcome whatever happened.