Archie Battersbee’s parents win fight to keep 12-year-old son’s life support on after court ruled he was dead
A LITTLE boy who is thought to be "brain stem dead" has been given a second chance after his parents won a desperate fight to keep him on life support.
The mum and dad of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee asked for a review of evidence after a High Court judge concluded that the youngster was dead.
Court of Appeal judges have now ruled that a judge should reconsider the case of Archie and decide whether it is in his best interests for life-support treatment to end.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot recently ruled that doctors could lawfully stop providing treatment to Archie, after considering evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
But lawyers representing Archie's parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, of Southend, Essex, on Wednesday argued that Mrs Justice Arbuthnot had made errors.
Edward Devereux QC, who is leading Archie's parents' legal team, argued the case should be remitted to the High Court so a judge could decide whether it was in Archie's best interests for life-sustaining treatment to continue.
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Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, had told Mrs Justice Arbuthnot how they thought that he was "brain-stem dead".
They said treatment should end and Archie should be disconnected from a ventilator.
Archie's parents say his heart is still beating and want treatment to continue.
Lawyers representing the Royal London Hospital's governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked Mrs Justice Arbuthnot to decide what moves were in Archie's best interests.
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Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded Archie was dead, and said treatment should end.
But she said there was a "compelling reason" why appeal judges should consider the case.
Mr Devereux said evidence had not shown "beyond reasonable doubt" that Archie was dead.
He said a decision had been made on a balance of probabilities - and argued a decision of such ";gravity" should have been made on a "beyond reasonable doubt" basis.
Mr Devereux argued that judges should apply a "standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt", not the balance of probabilities, when deciding whether to declare that Archie was dead.
Archie suffered brain damage in an incident at home in early April.
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Ms Dance said she found her son unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7 and thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge.
He has not regained consciousness.