Disappointed mother questions value of coroner's findings

Maria Bradshaw has had to sell her house to cover the costs of legal representation at the inquest into the death of her son. Photo / Dean Purcell

Toran Henry's mother, Maria Bradshaw, is disappointed with the findings into her son's death.

"Was it worth $70,000 to get a [coroner's] finding where the only recommendation made was that children should take their medication?"

Mrs Bradshaw is yet to learn whether she will get legal aid to cover some of the cost of her legal counsel at the inquest. She has had to sell her house to cover her costs to date and says she will file a complaint about the inquest.

She says she is particularly concerned that the coroner appeared to dismiss arguments during the inquest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) - the class of drugs which includes Prozac - were not associated with suicide. She said the coroner did not clearly lay out the reasons for his findings or why he favoured some evidence over others, particularly about the drug's side effects on Toran. "I just don't feel that it has been thorough," she said.

Mrs Bradshaw finds it difficult to comprehend that the coroner finds no criticisms of anyone at Takapuna Grammar. "When they called the police on the day before Toran died to report the fight outside the school, they didn't mention to the police Toran was under the care of mental health services. They didn't call me ... I would have thought that might have attracted some comment from the coroner because that was another opportunity that this could have been prevented."