Father dragged away from his dying daughter's hospital bedside by police faces legal bill of up to £100,000 after losing wrongful arrest case

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

A father who was forcibly dragged away from his dying daughter's hospital bedside by police is now facing a legal bill of up to £100,000 after losing his wrongful arrest case.
Dr Rashid Abbasi, an NHS consultant, had brought a civil claim against Northumbria Police for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, and assault and battery following the harrowing incident at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Disturbing police bodycam footage showed Dr Abbasi shouting 'b*******' and biting officers as they restrained and removed him from the children's intensive care unit in August 2019.
The five-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court ended with a judge condemning Dr Abbasi and describing his behaviour as the spark for the violent incident in the paediatric unit.
He also described who described Dr Abbasi as a 'menace' on the ward.
Now, six years after the incident, the father faces a massive legal bill.
He will have to cover not only his own costs but also between 60 and 70 per cent of the legal fees incurred by Northumbria Police.
This bill is estimated to be anywhere from £50,000 to £100,000, the Mirror reports.
Despite attempts by Dr Abbasi to recover some of the costs through a one-way cost shifting regime, it is understood that the police opposed the move, and the judge is expected to reject it.
This means Dr Abbasi will be liable for tens of thousands of pounds in costs.
Recorder James Murphy, who presided over the case, said police footage showed Dr Abbasi instigated the violence in the hospital ward.
The ruling dealt a heavy blow to Dr Abbasi, who had previously expressed deep distress at being removed from his daughter Zainab's bedside shortly after her life support was withdrawn.
In court, the judge said there was sufficient reason for police to believe a breach of the peace was imminent.
He added: 'If I was a bystander having watched this footage, a reasonable description would have been that Dr Abbasi was a coiled spring waiting to breach the peace.'
Following the verdict, Dr Abbasi said the judge's description of him as a 'menace' was 'unwarranted' and 'hurtful,' and that the video footage 'tells its own story.'
He added that the officers accepted he was not aggressive or threatening before they laid hands on him.
Rashid Abbasi, his wife Aliya and another relative, are seen at Zainab's bedside as police enter the ward
The incident involving Dr Abbasi took place at Newcastle's Great North Children's Hospital - which was named after an injunction was lifted by the Court of Appeal in 2020.
The Court of Appeal also allowed the naming of the doctors in charge of Zainab's care, but this was appealed by the NHS trusts involved.
However, the Supreme Court last month unanimously dismissed the appeal - allowing the medics to be identified.
Dr Abbasi's arrest came after the he and his wife were involved in a protracted dispute with doctors over the care of their critically ill daughter.
The six-year-old was suffering from respiratory problems and a rare genetic illness called Niemann-Pick disease, which meant she was likely to die during childhood.
Medics insisted Zainab should be allowed to die but Dr and Mrs Abbasi fought for further treatment that they were convinced would keep her alive.
The couple clashed with Zainab's doctors for years over her treatment.
They said that on two previous occasions when Zainab was critically ill they had successfully argued for her to be treated with steroids instead of having life support withdrawn, and were proved correct when her condition improved.
After her admission to hospital in July 2019, Dr and Mrs Abbasi believed that, while their daughter was dangerously ill, she could survive with the right care.
But the following month on August 19, doctors told the Abbasis that Zainab was dying.
An audio recording revealed how one doctor told them that 'the next steps would involve taking her off the ventilator'.
Rashid and Aliya pleaded for further tests, but one of the doctors refused, saying the process of moving Zainab on to palliative care needed to start 'straight away'.
Rashid told them they would have to get a court order to do so.
Urged again to carry out more tests, the doctor replied 'We are not going to be doing any more going round in circles', adding: 'You will never come to terms with this.'