Shaken Baby Syndrome – the Trap that Catches Innocent People
Author:
Jef Henninger, Attorney
For full bio see:
http://www.njdyfsattorney.com/lawyers.html
December 26th, 2010
Most people have heard of shaken baby syndrome. Few people really know what it is. To put it simply, it is the name given to a collection of symptoms thought to be caused by shaking a baby often out of anger and frustration. Its more art than science and the diagnosis may depend on who the suspects are and who is making the allegation. An infant really doesn’t have a medical history. Thus, unexplained injuries need an explanation. If neither parent admits to dropping the child, than the hospital staff will look to bone disease or shaken baby syndrome. Bone diseases or other ailments that could cause the injuries could be difficult to diagnose especially right away. If one of the parents seem like suspects, they will likely be branded suspects be hospital staff. As a result, when DYFS and law enforcement are called, they will often accept the suspect label that hospital staff has been given to one or both parents. Of course, an independent investigation would be expected in a perfect world, but this is New Jersey.
What you will see in these cases quite often is DYFS and law enforcement attempting to alienate one parent against the other. When this doesn’t happen, both parents may become the target. In one SBS case I was involved with, my client was prevented from having visitation simply because she said she wasn’t sure if her husband was guilty. Makes a lot of sense right? In that case, it eventually turned out that the father did nothing wrong.
Another thing you will see in these cases is law enforcement trying to break down the key suspect. They may give the suspect a stuffed animal and get him/her to show them how the child was dropped, shaken, carried, etc. As the pressure mounts, the suspect may eventually break and wind up admitting to something they didn’t even do. Research has born out time and time again that innocent people can be made to admit to something they didn’t do when they are subject to this type of pressure. Now that are facing criminal charges in addition to possibly losing your rights to your child, you will see that talking could be the worst thing that you ever did.
If you are under investigation for shaken baby syndrome, child abuse or any DFYS investigation, call our team of tough, smart attorneys right away.
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