Medico-legal testing for drugs and alcohol may be required by legal services and various professional bodies involved in child custody cases, care proceedings or child protection cases.

Why is testing needed in a child custody case?

In cases regarding divorce and children, a dispute may arise during the process of discussions involving the custody of children. In these cases, drug and alcohol testing may be sought if there has been a substance abuse claim against a parent fighting custody or visitation. Normally in medico-legal cases a hair sample would be tested as it provides the longest detection window.

At Randox Testing Services, we provide quality testing for professionals within the legal services sector. By utilising accredited methods, we provide the most secure facilities and robust analytical systems to carry out our testing.

Find out more about our various testing offerings and our range of solutions that can help your needs.

Alcohol Testing

Lab sample

Blood

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    PEth (Phosphatidylethanol) is a direct alcohol biomarker that only forms in the body when ethanol is present making it the most sensitive and specific test to assess alcohol consumption levels. The test involves spotting a drop of blood from a small finger prick onto a test card. The dried blood spot (DBS) is sent to the laboratory for analysis.
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    Liver Function Test (LFT) – The blood is examined for specific enzymes which can indicate damage to the liver caused by alcohol consumption.
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    Carbohydrate Deficient Transferring (CDT) – Looks at specific protein which can become elevated because of heavy alcohol consumption.
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    All testing for blood alcohol is carried out by a fully trained phlebotomist collection officer.

“Randox Testing Services for the presence of illegal and non-prescription drugs is a simple process and the results are available in a good timescale which is important in court cases. I have used the service for clients on a number of occasions and was always impressed.”

Keenan Solicitors

Hair testing

Hair

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    Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) and Ethyl Palmitate (EtPa) are direct biomarkers formed in the liver when alcohol is consumed.
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    Both EtG and EtPa can be measured in hair providing an insight into alcohol consumption over the previous period of months.
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    A detection window of 0-6 months is available dependent on length. 1cm equates to roughly 1 month of analysis.
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    Head hair and body are hair are used for analysis. Axillary & pubic hair are excluded.

Medico-Legal Testing Brochure

View our Medico-Legal Testing Overview Brochure

Drug Testing

urine analysis

Urine Testing

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    Our 12-panel instant urine testing device provides an assessment of substance consumption for up to 12 days.
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    Confirmation of presumptive positive is available on request.
Urine 1
MethamphetamineBarbiturates
Benzodiazepine 1Benzodiazepine 2
MethadoneOpiates
PhencyclidineCocaine Metabolite
CannabinoidsAmphetamine
Hair testing

Hair Testing

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    A detection window of 0-6 months is available dependent on length. 1cm equates to roughly 1 month of analysis.
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    Head hair and body are hair are used for analysis. Axillary & pubic hair are excluded.
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    Bespoke hair drug panel available on request.
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    Other substances are available on request.
Hair 1
AmphetamineCocaine
OpiatesTramadol
BenzodiazepinesKetamine
MethadoneCannabis
Methamphetamine

DNA Testing

DNA testing is the process which enables the positive identification of relationships between people. Paternity DNA testing is also often referred to simply as a DNA test, a paternity test or DNA testing. It is commonly used to establish if a man is the biological father of a child, however other types of DNA testing are available to determine relationships or family connections.

We provide the legal services sector with DNA testing that is fully confidential to all parties involved. Our collection team conduct testing using a strict chain of custody procedure for full transparency during the sample collection process and obtained using full legal consent.

How Does our method Work?

A mouth swab is the chosen method used to collect a sample from an individuals cheek. The samples are then sent on to our laboratory where a scientist will take a section of the sample. DNA is then extracted from the sample and a special enzyme is used to copy the genetic code at the relevant regions in the DNA.

Once this has been completed, a process called Short Tandem Repeat (STR) is used by detecting ‘markers’ in the DNA molecule that are known to vary greatly between unrelated people. STR profiling is a sensitive and accurate DNA testing procedure.

DNA Testing services

We provide DNA Testing Services for the following:

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    Paternity Testing
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    Maternity Testing
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    Sibling DNA Testing
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    Grandparent DNA Testing
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    Aunt/Uncle Testing