Court told boy on life-support “partially brain dead”

In the ongoing case surrounding a boy on life-support’s hospital treatment, the High Court heard from an expert that parts of the boy’s brain have already died.

The boy, Archie Battersbee, 12, has been in a coma since April after suffering a “freak accident” at home. His mother, Hollie, said she found him with a ligature over his head. She believes Archie had been taking part in an online challenge, such as TikTok’s “blackout challenge” where users choke themselves until loss of consciousness.

The court heard the incident has resulted in the lower part of Archie’s brain being significantly damaged, with the upper part also affected.

The brain is continuing to decay, and experts say the prognosis is “very grave”, adding that the injuries are “severe enough… that a point of return is unlikely”.

Fiona Paterson, the barrister for the hospital, said the scans “paint a picture that may be very hard to bear”, adding the opinion of a doctor that “Archie’s digestive system is no longer absorbing nourishment properly as a result of his brain injury”.

Therefore, the doctors feel that the boy’s life support at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel should end. His parents, Hollie and Paul of Essex, are arguing the contrary.

The judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, ordered additional scans to be taken before ruling. The expert in the case felt there had been no improvement since the previous set of scans were carried out; rather, the boy’s condition had deteriorated. Two other experts in an earlier hearing said Archie’s damage was “irretrievable” and that he was “brain-stem dead”.

The parents’ lawyers said that the recent scan was not sufficient to conclude that Archie was brain dead. The parents said they were “very concerned” Archie had not received necessary treatment to relieve swelling on his brain. Hollie said “I am trying to be there for my little boy while also fighting a legal battle. It is so difficult and unfair”, adding that “[my son] may not be the same as he was, but if there’s a possibility he could live a happy life after this, I want to give it to him”.

The court hearing is set to end on Wednesday.