A recent meta - analysis
of 11 studies that investigated the association
of bed - sharing and SIDS revealed a summary OR
of 2.88 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.99 — 4.18) with bed - sharing.158 Furthermore, bed - sharing in an adult bed not designed for infant safety exposes the infant to additional risks for
accidental injury and death, such as suffocation, asphyxia, entrapment, falls, and strangulation.159, 160 Infants, particularly those in the first 3 months
of life and those born prematurely and / or with low birth weight, are at highest risk, 161 possibly
because immature motor skills and muscle strength make it difficult to escape potential threats.158 In recent years, the concern among public health officials about bed - sharing has increased,
because there have been increased reports
of SUIDs occurring in high - risk sleep environments, particularly bed - sharing and / or sleeping on a couch or armchair.162, — , 165
This is true for any dog, however it is particularly true for Boston Terriers
because of the combination
of their height and the short muzzle and large eyes, which makes them more susceptible to
accidental eye
injuries.
Tate's Head
of Legal, Richard Aydon, seemed to think he was in a Monty Python sketch and warned the Tribunal that providing the sponsorship figures might lead to an increased risk
of accidental injury through slips or trips,
because it would result in more protests.
Charles J decided that
because of a familiar bone fragility and the parent's ability to discharge the evidential burden
of possible
accidental injury, there was insufficient evidence to satisfy the threshold criteria, commenting at para 155: «If parents impress a court... as credible witnesses... that is a factor in the overall factors to be taken into account which effectively reverses the degrees
of likelihood placed upon the likely causative event identified by medical experts.»