Mother of disabled daughter who died in care launches legal challenge to European Court of Human Rights over Article 2 inquests
A mother has instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to launch a legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) following her daughter’s death while in care.
This follows a Supreme Court ruling, handed down in June, which dismissed her appeal against the decision not to hold an Article 2 inquest.
Jackie Maguire, who had Down syndrome, became ill while living in a care home. The 52-year-old lacked mental capacity to make decisions about her care and had a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards standard authorisation in place.
The day before her death in February 2017, Jackie suffered fits and the care home called 111. An ambulance attended and thought Jackie was refusing to go to hospital.
An out-of-hours GP advised that, while it was desirable that Jackie should attend hospital, her condition was not so serious that they should override her wishes and force her to go.
The following morning, Jackie's condition had worsened and she collapsed again. Another ambulance was called and this time she was admitted to hospital. She later died in hospital from a perforated stomach ulcer and pneumonia.
An inquest found that Jackie died of natural causes. However, Irwin Mitchell noted that, “despite the family’s pleas, the hearing didn’t examine the wider circumstances of Jackie’s death, including the care and treatment she received in the lead up to her death and whether the state had a duty to protect Jackie’s right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights”.
Muriel Maguire, Jackie’s mother, launched a legal challenge against the decision not to hold an Article 2 inquest. However, following several appeals, the Supreme Court rejected her case.
In Maguire, R (on the application of) v His Majesty's Senior Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde & Anor [2023] UKSC 20 (21 June 2023), the judgment explained that there are two types of positive obligations on the state under the Article 2 'Right to life'.
The Supreme Court found on the facts of the case that there had been no arguable breach of either the 'Systems Duty' or the 'Operational Duty' and, therefore, there did not need to be an Article 2 inquest with the "expanded verdict" that would have entailed.
The Equality and Human Rights Commissions, which intervened in the case, expressed disappointment at the ruling, saying it meant that such individuals were not in the same situation as prisoners and other similar groups, but rather had the same human rights protections that apply to the general population.
The mother has now instructed lawyers to support her in taking her appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, to determine whether the UK State did owe her daughter Article 2 rights.
Rebecca Chapman, public law and human rights specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is a tragic case and Muriel and the family are committed to doing everything in their power to secure what they believe would be justice for Jackie.
“The family believe strongly there were issues in the care Jackie received in the lead up to her death and that these should’ve been considered as part of the original inquest.
“We’re now advising and supporting Muriel who is determined to continue her quest for answers in her daughter’s memory."
Chapman added: “People detained under deprivation of liberty safeguards are some of society’s most vulnerable. Therefore, it’s vital that those in charge of their care always uphold such safeguards at all times.”
Irwin Mitchell revealed that as no legal aid is available, Muriel Maguire needs to raise £25,000 to cover the costs of making an initial application to the ECHR.
Muriel Maguire said: “If we’re successful, the court will have decided that human rights law did apply so that the state did have a duty to protect Jackie’s life. This means the true circumstances of Jackie’s death will finally be established and future inquest juries will, in cases like Jackie's, be allowed to identify failings and make judgmental findings, and these will become part of the Record of Inquest.
“This isn’t just about justice for Jackie but also helping others who don’t have the mental capacity to act in their best interests.
“If the European Court of Human Rights sides with us there will be accountability and lessons will be learned which will help to prevent such tragic deaths in the future. This is so important, and to me, and all of Jackie’s family, her death will not have been in vain.”
Lottie Winson
