Latest news with #Niemann-PickDisease
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
Dad dragged away from dying daughter's bed by cops hit with huge legal bill
Dr Rashid Abbasi will have to pay the legal fees after losing his case for wrongful arrest. A dad who was dragged away from his dying daughter's hospital bed by police has been hit with a huge legal bill. Dr Rashid Abbasi will have to pay the legal fees after losing his case for wrongful arrest. He also brought a civil claim for false imprisonment and assault and battery against Northumbria Police but was condemned as dishonest by a judge. Now, he will have to pay for the five-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court. It means he will have to pay for his civil case and around 60 to 70 per cent of the legal costs of Northumbria Police, a bill estimated at anywhere from £50,000 up to £100,000. In disturbing video images reported by the Mirror, footage showed him shouting 'b*******' and biting officers who restrained and dragged him from intensive care in August 2019. Dr Abbasi had attempted to recover some costs under a one way cost shifting regime but it is understood that police have opposed that move and it is set to be rejected by the judge. It was a bid to offset some of the 'costs liability' which will run into tens of thousands of pounds. Police footage showed Dr Abbasi, 64, sparked the violence in the paediatric unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, said Recorder James Murphy in his judgement. He condemned his 'quite appalling' allegations that an officer had told him that he would never see daughter Zainab again as untrue and said that he doubted even Dr Abbasi had ever believed it. In his damning judgement, he said: "I would be very surprised that a member of the public let alone a police officer would not have decided there was likely to be a breach of the peace. "The attitude of Dr Abbasi at the time described by the nurses and also the security guards paint a much more accurate picture of the menace present on the ward used by Dr Abbasi. "It is perfectly clear to me looking at his demeanour and attitude. If I was a bystander having watched this footage, a reasonable description would have been that Dr Abbasi was a coiled spring." He and his wife, Aliya, 57, also a doctor, were told that medics wanted to remove Zainab, six, from a ventilator keeping her alive. The little girl suffered from a life-limiting neurodegenerative condition called Niemann-Pick Disease. It was a 'truly shocking' incident, the judge said. She died four weeks later. Speaking after the case earlier this month, Dr Abbasi said: "My daughter Zainab was the light of my life. "She was a critically ill young girl. She needed both her parents by her bedside. Any father would have been desperate to stay. "I am disappointed that the arrest was held to be lawful and the description of me by the Judge as a menace was unwarranted and hurtful and is not borne out by the video footage which tells its own story." His solicitor, Daniel Cooper, Partner at Imran Khan and Partners, said he would be advising on the merits of an appeal "in due course." Both Northumbria Police and Dr Abassi's legal team declined to comment on the legal bill.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Dad dragged away from dying daughter's bed by police faces massive legal bill
Dr Rashid Abbasi lost a civil claim for false imprisonment and assault and battery against Northumbria Police after he was forcibly removed from his dying daughter's hospital bedside The dad who was forcibly removed from his dying daughter's hospital bedside by police is facing a huge legal bill after losing his case for wrongful arrest. Dr Rashid Abbasi also brought a civil claim for false imprisonment and assault and battery against Northumbria Police but was condemned as dishonest by a judge. Now, he will have to pay for the five-day trial at Newcastle crown court in his civil case and around 60 to 70 per cent of the legal costs of Northumbria Police, a bill estimated at anywhere from £50,000 up to £100,000. Disturbing video images showed him shouting 'b*******' and biting officers who restrained and dragged him from intensive care in August 2019. He now faces paying not only his own legal costs but the costs of Northumbria Police following a case which took six years to come to court. He had attempted to recover some costs under a one way cost shifting regime but it is understood that police have opposed that move and it is set to be rejected by the judge. It was a bid to offset some of the 'costs liability' which will run into tens of thousands of pounds. Police footage showed Dr Abbasi, 64, sparked the violence in the paediatric unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, said Recorder James Murphy in his judgement. He condemned his 'quite appalling' allegations that an officer had told him that he would never see daughter Zainab again as untrue and said that he doubted even Dr Abbasi had ever believed it. In his damning judgement, he said: "I would be very surprised that a member of the public let alone a police officer would not have decided there was likely to be a breach of the peace. "The attitude of Dr Abbasi at the time described by the nurses and also the security guards paint a much more accurate picture of the menace present on the ward used by Dr Abbasi. "It is perfectly clear to me looking at his demeanour and attitude. If I was a bystander having watched this footage, a reasonable description would have been that Dr Abbasi was a coiled spring." He and his wife, Aliya, 57, also a doctor, were told that medics wanted to remove their Zainab, six, from a ventilator keeping her alive. The little girl suffered from a life-limiting neurodegenerative condition called Niemann-Pick Disease. It was a 'truly shocking' incident, the judge said. She died four weeks after it. Speaking after the case earlier this month, Dr Abbasi said: "My daughter Zainab was the light of my life. "She was a critically ill young girl. She needed both her parents by her bedside. Any father would have been desperate to stay. "I am disappointed that the arrest was held to be lawful and the description of me by the Judge as a menace was unwarranted and hurtful and is not borne out by the video footage which tells its own story." His solicitor, Daniel Cooper, Partner at Imran Khan and Partners, said he would be advising on the merits of an appeal "in due course." Both Northumbria Police and Dr Abassi's legal team declined to comment on the legal bill.
Daily Record
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Dad dragged by cops from his dying daughter's bedside loses claim against them
Dr Rashid Abbasi brought a civil claim for false imprisonment, assault and battery against Northumbria Police after he was arrested on a paediatric intensive care unit. A distraught dad who was by cops from his dying daughter's bedside has lost his claim against the police. Dr Rashid Abbasi brought a civil claim for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and assault and battery against Northumbria Police, after officers dragged him away from an intensive care unit in August 2019. Distressing police body camera footage showed Dr Abbasi, 62, being dragged from the side of his critically ill six-year-old daughter Zainab's bedside on the children's intensive care unit of a North east hospital, reports the Mirror. Judge Recorder Mr James Murphy said: "I would be very surprised that a member of the public let alone a police officer would not have decided there was likely to be a breach of the peace. "The attitude of Dr Abbasi at the time described by the nurses on the ward and also the security guards paint a much more accurate of pictures of the menace that was present on the ward used by Dr Abbasi, it is perfectly clear to me looking at his demeanour and attitude. "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." He added there was more than sufficient reason and grounds for the police to believe that there was an imminent risk of a breach of the peace due to his behaviour in a. meeting before the incident happened. His rights 'were not curtailed' amounting to unlawful arrest, assault and batter and false imprisonment. "Many members of the public have the unfortunate experience of attending paediatric intensive care," he added. "It was exceptional that police would be called not once but twice in four days, it is exceptional that any parent would behave in that way. In my judgement, he would have done that again and the recipients of the breach of peace would have been members of staff in a vulnerable position, and their position was to provide care to a grievously ill child." Dr Abbasi and his wife, Aliya, were told that medics wanted to remove their daughter, Zainab, from a ventilator that was keeping her alive. The little girl suffered from a rare life-limiting neurodegenerative condition called Niemann-Pick Disease, which affects the body's ability to metabolise fat within cells. It can affect vital organs including the brain, nerves and liver, and in severe cases the lungs. Her parents, from Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham, believed that the doctors became increasingly reluctant to tackle even the treatable respiratory problems because of her underlying life-limiting neurodegenerative disease. But the judge Recorder James Murphy said that staff had found his behaviour 'intimidating' and he had been asked to only visit the ward between the hours of 9am to 5pm. There was a meeting to inform him of that decision and he was described as being 'very angry' when told he could not return to intensive care unit. He was said to have pushed a staff member out of the way and security was called. They decided not to intervene, and police were called. Bodycam footage showed Dr Abbasi being removed from the ward, when he can be heard shouting that he had chest pains and was having a heart attack. He asks for his medication, when the police officers accuse him of biting them as he is tied down onto a stretcher. Dr Abbasi can be heard calling the police 'b******s' and the officers were heard warning him about his behaviour and asking him to co-operate before he was arrested and dragged to the floor. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The court heard that there was 'evidence of bleeding' suffered by one of the arresting officers. The Judge found that Dr Abbasi did not give an honest account of the risk of his daughter being intubated, that is that her tube would have been removed, if he did not return to her bedside. As a doctor, he 'would have known' that the parents ' consent would have to be given to do so, and that consent had not been given. It was a 'truly shocking' incident, the judge said in his judgement, and had been described as such by staff at the trial at Newcastle crown court this week, which concluded today. "These events had a background which could not be ignored," the judge said. The background was that Dr Abbasi and his wife had a history of making complaints about their daughter's treatment at two hospitals closer to their home. Their daughter's treatment plan caused numerous disputes between the parents, who are both doctors, and the medical team supporting Zainab about the appropriate intensity of treatment, culminating in the incident captured on a police body camera. Zainab died four weeks later. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Dr Abbasi and his family began legal proceedings against Northumbria Police, alleging assault and battery and false imprisonment.
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Dad dragged away from his dying daughter's bedside loses claim against police
A dad who sued police after he was forcibly removed from his dying daughter's hospital bedside lost his case against them today. Dr Rashid Abbasi brought a civil claim for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and assault and battery against Northumbria Police, after officers dragged him away from an intensive care unit in August 2019. Alarming police body camera footage showed Dr Abbasi, 62, being dragged from the side of his critically ill six-year-old daughter Zainab's bedside on the children's intensive care unit of a North east hospital. Judge Recorder Mr James Murphy said: "I would be very surprised that a member of the public let alone a police officer would not have decided there was likely to be a breach of the peace. The attitude of Dr Abbasi at the time described by the nurses on the ward and also the security guards paint a much more accurate of pictures of the menace that was present on the ward used by Dr Abbasi, it is perfectly clear to me looking at his demeanour and attitude. "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." He added there was more than sufficient reason and grounds for the police to believe that there was an imminent risk of a breach of the peace due to his behaviour in a. meeting before the incident happened. His rights 'were not curtailed' amounting to unlawful arrest, assault and batter and false imprisonment. "Many members of the public have the unfortunate experience of attending paediatric intensive care," he added. "It was exceptional that police would be called not once but twice in four parents, it is exceptional that any parent would behave in that way. In my judgement, he would have done that again and the recipients of the breach of peace would have been members of staff in a vulnerable position, and their position was to provide care to a grievously ill child." Dr Abbasi and his wife, Aliya, were told that medics wanted to remove their daughter, Zainab, from a ventilator that was keeping her alive. The little girl suffered from a rare life-limiting neurodegenerative condition called Niemann-Pick Disease, which affects the body's ability to metabolise fat within cells. It can affect vital organs including the brain, nerves and liver, and in severe cases the lungs. Her parents, from Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham, believed that the doctors became increasingly reluctant to tackle even the treatable respiratory problems because of her underlying life-limiting neurodegenerative disease. But the judge Recorder James Murphy said that staff had found his behaviour 'intimidating' and he had been asked to only visit the ward between the hours of 9am to 5pm. There was a meeting to inform him of that decision and he was described as being 'very angry' when told he could not return to intensive care unit. He was said to have pushed a staff member out of the way and security was called. They decided not to intervene, and police were called. Bodycam footage showed Dr Abbasi being removed from the ward, when he can be heard shouting that he had chest pains and was having a heart attack. He asks for his medication, when the police officers accuse him of biting them as he is tied down onto a stretcher. Dr Abbasi can be heard calling the police 'b******s' and the officers were heard warning him about his behaviour and asking him to co-operate before he was arrested and dragged to the floor. The court heard that there was 'evidence of bleeding' suffered by one of the arresting officers. The Judge found that Dr Abbasi did not give an honest account of the risk of his daughter being intubated, that is that her tube would have been removed, if he did not return to her bedside. As a doctor, he 'would have known' that the parents' consent would have to be given to do so, and that consent had not been given. It was a 'truly shocking' incident, the judge said in his judgement, and had been described as such by staff at the trial at Newcastle crown court this week, which concluded today. "These events had a background which could not be ignored," the judge said. The background was that Dr Abbasi and his wife had a history of making complaints about their daughter's treatment at two hospitals closer to their home. Their daughter's treatment plan caused numerous disputes between the parents, who are both doctors, and the medical team supporting Zainab about the appropriate intensity of treatment, culminating in the incident captured on a police body camera. Zainab died four weeks later. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Dr Abbasi and his family began legal proceedings against Northumbria Police, alleging assault and battery and false imprisonment.
