How to Prepare If You Are Charged with SBS

If you are charged with Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) or Blunt Forced Trauma or whatever the latest phrase is to charge a person with a theory based crime.  Keep in mind that this is based on a theory as ethically, you cannot shake a baby or a child to determine the extent of injuries.  No one really knows what injuries could present themselves if shaken and the cases where a person has admitted shaking, you can most likely bet that it was a plea to hopefully get a lesser sentence.  Just because a person admits to shaking a child, it may not be so.  There have been studies done that you don't hear about dealing with the force necessary to create the types of injuries that are claimed to have been a result of SBS.  Biomechanics experts, who are trained to understand height/velocity, have published their findings that it is impossible to shake a child to product the constellation or in most cases, one or two of the "known injuries" to charge a person with SBS.

Regardless if you believe or don't believe in SBS, it's important to treat the child for what is really happening.  How many of these children might have an underlying disease state and are being treated inappropriately?  How many children if diagnosed correctly, could be saved?  How many siblings might be a ticking bomb due to a genetic medical condition?  The point to this post is to ensure a child was diagnosed correctly.  It serves no purpose to convict someone when the doctors cannot pinpoint the cause of the alleged injuries.  It is the doctor's duty to ensure the child has been diagnosed correctly.  On a second note, vaccination injuries do occur which is why there is a reporting database and why many lawsuits compensating parents have been resolved.  A doctor should not exclude the possibility of a vaccination reaction if the timing is within a certain timepoint of the alleged injury.

Lucid intervals is another point that needs to be considered.  There is literature showing that a child can have a lucid interval on a previous head injury.  There are also brain injuries involved in the birthing process.  There are many factors that need to be considered in treating and diagnosing these children that present themselves with no obvious reason or witness. 

If you are convicted, there are important steps your attorney needs to take to ensure you are being represented appropriately.

• All hospital records have to be retrieved.   This includes all medical records, reports, lab reports, notes, images, CT-Scans, radiology, prenatal records, well baby records, vaccination records, pre-existing conditions, autopsy rough and formal notes, reports and findings. All experts findings/notes that were involved with the child's care or via the autopsy needs to be obtained.   Most likely, your attorney will need to issue a subpoena.
• All slides from the autopsy need to be obtained.  You want to ensure tissue samples and retinopathy findings are included. 
• All this data needs to be reviewed carefully and put into a timeline format.  It will take skilled people to read and review this data to look for inconsistencies, errors or omissions.
• Review all interviews that the police conducted for additional clues into past injuries, pre-existing conditions, medications and so forth.  Also, have your own interviews by a private investigator.  Key information can be obtained such as the child was seen by various doctors in various towns or the child fell down the stairs a week prior.  All events and knowledge are critical to piecing together the puzzle.  The goal should not be to convict anyone if a child is presented with an unexplained injury.  The goal is to determine what happened to treat the child first and foremost.
• Interview all medical experts for the prosecution and tape record the conversation.  There is critical information that can be obtained from talking to these experts.  The attorney needs to understand what the expert is utilizing to form their opinions.  Perhaps they are referring to old journals and have not seen any of the new literature questioning SBS.  Leave no stone unturned.  Look to see if there are any complaints on this expert.  Look at their history on other cases to see if there are any trends.  There is an influx of pathologists being scrutinized for their past performance on these types of cases.  Look at Dr. Charles Smith out of Canada.

More to come ...