Child Abuse: Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken Baby Syndrome is a medical term used to describe the resulting brain injuries caused by violent shaking of the head of an infant or a small child.

There rarely are witnesses to abusive shaking; therefore, the case is usually a matter of attempting to re-create what occurred by using medical descriptions and analyses of the injuries. A mother or a female babysitter is just as likely to be charged with child physical abuse or murder, as is a husband or male babysitter. The person that is charged is normally the individual who was caring for the child when the symptoms first became evident. Recently, medical and biomechanical engineering research and opinions have concluded that it may not be possible for an infant's brain to be damaged from shaking alone without the head impacting against a hard object.

A Shaken Baby Syndrome case is extremely difficult to prepare and present to a jury. They combine specialties in a wide and diverse field of knowledge, including: medical, scientific, biomechanical engineering, as well as criminal defense. The lawyers at Kirsch and Satawa are amongst the best at defending these cases - with the specialized training, experience and expertise to properly research, investigate, prepare, and present these cases to both the judge and jury.

"There are people that shake their children and hurt them, but there are also times when normal childhood falls and events can produce symptoms that look like shaken baby… And sorting out the difference between the two is one of the most difficult challenges that child protection workers have." Michael A. Fox
Butler County Commissioner
The Cincinnati Enquirer - Monday, July 02, 2001

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