It is, of course, impossible to say exactly what went wrong
in the sad case of the couple who were wrongly accused of
killing their four-month-old son and as a result had another child taken into
care at birth. All we know at this stage are the bare facts as given in the
first press and radio reports of the case.
The couple has now been cleared of all criminal charges and
their daughter has been restored to their care. We are told that their son was
suffering from rickets that was not diagnosed at the time of his death. Rickets
results in softening of the bones predisposing towards fractures that can occur
spontaneously as a result of the normal handling of a small child, so producing
symptoms similar to those of a shaken baby.
Cases like this one have also resulted in injustice in the
past. The crucial issue appears to be that everything rests on the medical
diagnosis. There is no history of poor care and there is no other reason to
suspect that the parents would harm a child. Without the diagnosis there would
be no concern at all; with it care proceedings and criminal charges appear to
be the only option.
We need to learn much more about the risks in cases like
this one. It would certainly be preferable to be aware of any conflicting
medical opinions as early as possible, rather than having rival experts
disputing their differing diagnoses in court many months, or even years, after
the event. And it would certainly be best to spend more time getting the
diagnosis right in the first place.
However, this type of case is not routinely put through the
Serious Case Review process and there seems to be no repository of learning of
how to reduce the risks of mistakenly proceeding against innocent parents. Perhaps
some research would be a good idea?
