Shaken Baby Syndrome, Abusive Head Trauma, and Actual Innocence: Getting It Right

105 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2012 Last revised: 16 Dec 2020

See all articles by Keith A. Findley

Keith A. Findley

University of Wisconsin Law School

Patrick D. Barnes, MD

Stanford University - Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology

David A. Moran

University of Michigan Law School

Waney Squier

University of Oxford - John Radcliffe Hospital

Date Written: April 30, 2012

Abstract

In the past decade, the existence of shaken baby syndrome (SBS) has been called into serious question by biomechanical studies, the medical and legal literature, and the media. As a result of these questions, SBS has been renamed abusive head trauma (AHT). This is, however, primarily a terminological shift: like SBS, AHT refers to the two-part hypothesis that one can reliably diagnose shaking or abuse from three internal findings (subdural hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage and encephalopathy) and that one can identify the perpetrator based on the onset of symptoms. Over the past decade, we have learned that this hypothesis fits poorly with the anatomy and physiology of the infant brain, that there are many natural and accidental causes for these findings, and that the onset of symptoms does not reliably indicate timing. In the last issue of this journal, Dr. Sandeep Narang marshaled the arguments and evidence that he believes support the diagnostic specificity of the medical signs that are used to diagnose SBS/AHT. Dr. Narang does not dispute the alternative diagnoses but nonetheless argues that, in the absence of a proven alternative, the SBS/AHT hypothesis is sufficiently reliable to support criminal convictions. The cited studies do not, however, support this position since they assume the validity of the hypothesis without examining it and classify cases accordingly, often without considering alternative diagnoses. To address this problem, Dr. Narang argues that, in diagnosing SBS/AHT, we should rely on the judgment of child abuse pediatricians and other clinicians who endorse the hypothesis. Reliance on groups that endorse a particular hypothesis is, however, antithetical to evidence-based medicine and Daubert, which require an objective assessment of the scientific evidence. In the past decades, thousands of parents and caretakers have been accused "and many convicted" of abusing children based on a hypothesis that is not scientifically supported. While we must do everything in our power to protect children, we must refrain from invoking abuse as a default diagnosis for medical findings that are complex, poorly understood and have a wide range of causes, some doubtlessly yet unknown. To this end, we are calling for collaboration between the medical and legal communities for the sole purpose of "getting it right."

Keywords: SBS, Shaken Baby Syndrome, AHT, Abusive Head Trauma, Daubert, innocence, wrongful conviction, medical evidence

Suggested Citation

Findley, Keith A. and Barnes, Patrick D. and Moran, David A. and Squier, Waney, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Abusive Head Trauma, and Actual Innocence: Getting It Right (April 30, 2012). 12 Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy 209, Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1195, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2048374

Keith A. Findley (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin Law School ( email )

975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
United States
608-262-4763 (Phone)
608-263-3380 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.wisc.edu/facstaff/biog.php?iID=269

Patrick D. Barnes

Stanford University - Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology ( email )

United States

David A. Moran

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
United States

Waney Squier

University of Oxford - John Radcliffe Hospital ( email )

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
United Kingdom

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