4 ms·

My understanding is that you got it backwards. As far as I understand, the claim is that internal head/brain/eye trauma can have many causes, so these symptoms

by Yoric 3y ago

My understanding is that you got it backwards. As far as I understand, the claim is that internal head/brain/eye trauma can have many causes, so these symptoms do not automatically mean that the baby was necessarily shaken. Sadly, this combination of symptoms have been named "Shaken Baby Syndrome", which means that people naturally assume that the baby has been shaken, which is apparently a crime in Texas. Had this same syndrome been named "Guthkelch Syndrome", or anything else, the man currently on death row might have been deemed innocent. I, for one, find this scary. Just as (in a very different domain) the "movie piracy == slavery" equation I've seen float in Blockbusters many years ago. When people who don't know better start believing in names/PR/..., this can have very real (in this case, deadly) consequences.

beerandt 3y ago
>internal head/brain/eye trauma can have many causes But almost all have corresponding external trauma. The cases that don't have matching external trauma narrow it down considerably. Restrained in a car seat in a rollover wreck? Maybe. Rolled out of her bed? Not really plausible. But might seem like a good excuse for someone looking to cover up abuse. Sort of agree with it being scary that a diagnosis implies a crime, but this is a case where the girl died from bad parenting, whether you call it SBS or not. Hell, even his excuses are giving a 2-year old too many opiates and letting her sleep somewhere she could fall from while sick. Plus lying about the pneumonia, which wasn't present on autopsy.
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
  >> But might seem like a good excuse for someone looking to cover up abuse. You have absolutely no way to place any certainty on this "might" at all.
- Yoric 3y ago
  Well, I have neither the medical knowledge nor any kind of deep understanding of this case necessary to pursue this conversation, so I'll bow out. Thanks for the details!

by Yoric 3y ago

beerandt 3y ago

>internal head/brain/eye trauma can have many causes But almost all have corresponding external trauma. The cases that don't have matching external trauma narrow it down considerably. Restrained in a car seat in a rollover wreck? Maybe. Rolled out of her bed? Not really plausible. But might seem like a good excuse for someone looking to cover up abuse. Sort of agree with it being scary that a diagnosis implies a crime, but this is a case where the girl died from bad parenting, whether you call it SBS or not. Hell, even his excuses are giving a 2-year old too many opiates and letting her sleep somewhere she could fall from while sick. Plus lying about the pneumonia, which wasn't present on autopsy.

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
>> But might seem like a good excuse for someone looking to cover up abuse. You have absolutely no way to place any certainty on this "might" at all.
Yoric 3y ago
Well, I have neither the medical knowledge nor any kind of deep understanding of this case necessary to pursue this conversation, so I'll bow out. Thanks for the details!