When a child has unexplained fractures, the inclination amongst CPS investigators, police and child protection team doctors is to blame the parents. The classic factors in reaching a medical diagnosis of “inflicted injuries” for a child with bone injuries detectable on x-ray are:
- Fractures in various stages of healing
- Explanations by the parents which do not seem to adequately explain the injuries.
In addition, there are certain types of bone injury which are taken by many CPT doctors as being indicators of child abuse in virtually all cases. An example of this is the Classic Metaphyseal Lesions. Although recent developments in medical science refute this assertion, there is a vast number of doctors who will report the case to Child Protective Services as a virtual certainty of inflicted injury when certain fractures or bone lesions are found.
Metabolic and Genetic Deficiencies
For years now, defense attorneys have raised issues related to bone abnormalities such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), Osteopenia, Wormean Bones, Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Rickets. In response, most Child Protection Team Doctors will order genetic testing designed to rule out a majority of detectable OI cases. When the results are negative, CPS and courts often treat that as an indication that the child had healthy bones. This is faulty reasoning for a number of reasons. First, it is not possible to “rule out” OI through genetic testing. It is only possible to determine whether the child suffers from a majority of the conditions classified as OI. Second there are many metablolic conditions which would not show up using genetic testing which can provide a medical explanation for injuries which appear to be the result of inflicted injury to a radiologist. For example, in the Midwest, doctors are seeing an increasing number of infants with Vitamin D deficiencies. Some prominent Pediatric Radiologists are reporting near epidemic numbers of underdeveloped and fragile bones attributable to this and other deficiencies. Yet, many doctors will fail to test the child for Vitamin D or check other levels which would shed light on the child’s overall bone development.
Children with Vitamin D deficiencies, and a host of other metabolic issues will present to the emergency room with fractures and bone injuries which mimic abuse. Children with bone deficiencies will often have multiple fractures with little or no bruising, and with little outward sign of pain or distress. At Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC, we have litigated these issues in Michigan and elsewhere in the Midwest. We are finding cases of multiple fractures in infants of non-abusive parents with increasing frequency. Nonetheless, the Child Protection Teams, CPS and Courts are very reluctant to accept the notion that children with multiple fractures may not have been abused.
Mistakes Parents Make:
Parents being investigated for abuse need the assistance of an attorney familiar with the inner workings of the child protection system. Typically, a multiple fracture case begins with a parent becoming aware of irritability or perhaps a bruise on their infant or young child. Often they take the child to the family physician and are referred to the emergency room of a local hospital. Often, the emergecy room physician orders an x-ray and discovers a fracture which the parents were not aware of. Remember that an unexplained injury is almost always treated as abuse by a doctor or a CPS investigator. Once the doctors and CPS begin to assume abuse, they will press the parents for explanations.
Parents want to be helpful and will often engage in speculation as to what might have happened which would explain the fracture. When doctors, nurses or CPS investigators hear words like, “maybe I picked him up by the arms” or “maybe I hit her to hard when I was burping her”, they treat those words as confessions by the parents that they have abused their child even if they don’t believe that the statement explains the injury adequately. A speculative explanation such as this is almost always treated as an indication of abuse.
Parents should never speculate as to what caused an injury when they have no actual knowledge. Once a parent understands that they are dealing with a child with multiple fractures, they should decline to talk to CPS investigators until counsel is present and has reviewed the case thouroughly. The same is true of police. A parent should never talk to police about injuries to their child without counsel present. There is only one reason that police would show up an want to ask questions about your child’s injuries; that is, they suspect abuse and investigating the posibilities of making an arrest.
If you have a child with unexplained injuries or multiple fractures, it is highly likely that CPS will attempt to terminate your parental rights for your injured child, and all other children that you have parented or will parent in the future. You will need the help of a skilled defense attorney. The attorneys at Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC are tireless advocates for falsely accused parents. We maintain a high level of specialized training and have extensive experience in helping parents maintain their parental rights. We have an extensive network of medical professionals that we use as expert witnesses in defense of parents. You should consult with us immediately if:
- You discover that you have a child with multiple fractures.
- You discover that your child has injuries that you cannot explain without speculating.
- You have been contacted by CPS about your child’s injuries.
- You have been contacted by police about your child’s injuries.
- Your visitation of your child in the hospital has been restricted in some way.
- You are summoned to come to a group meeting or a team meeting to discuss your child’s treatment or injuries.
Our attorneys are available 24 hours a day at 1-866-766-5245.