# Suffolk mother faces £18,000 legal bill to protect son’s medical privacy

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mother-forced-to-spend-18000-on-legal-fees-to-stop-violent-ex-husband-accessing-medical-records-of-son-he-left-with-life-changing-injuries/
- Published: 2026-10-26T16:03:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T16:18:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16239841/Mother-forced-spend-18-000-legal-fees-stop-violent-ex-husband-accessing-medical-records-son-left-life-changing-injuries.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Mother faces at least £18,000 in legal fees to restrict access to her son’s records.
- The boy’s father was jailed after shaking him as an infant.
- Parental responsibility can allow requests for children’s medical records.

## Summary

A mother in Suffolk says she may have to spend at least £18,000 in legal fees to prevent her former husband accessing their eight-year-old son’s medical records. The father was jailed for grievous bodily harm after shaking the child as an infant, causing severe, lifelong health conditions; the mother says allowing him access could undermine the boy’s privacy and safety.

Under current law, people with parental responsibility can request their children’s medical records, even if they have had no contact or involvement in their upbringing. The father has reportedly made such a request despite a ban on contacting his former family under his licence conditions, which are due to end early next year. The boy has the mental capacity of a newborn, daily seizures and respiratory problems, and his mother says doctors are assessing whether he will need oxygen overnight.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.