Domestic violence linked to child abuse|Child abuse lawyer|Shaken Baby Syndrome Survivor Lawyer

Domestic violence (DV), which is also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Intimate Partner Aggression or Violence (IPAV), creates an increased risk of corporal punishment of children, which is known to create an increased risk of physical child abuse. According to a recently published study, "Use of Spanking for 3-year-old Children and Associated Intimate Partner Aggression or Violence" by Catherine Taylor, Ph.D., Shawna Lee, Ph.D., Neil Guterman, Ph.D. and Janet Rice, Ph.D., published in Pediatrics, Vol. 126, Number 3, a significant finding in their study was that adult VICTIMS of domestic violence (DV)/ Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)/Intimate Partner Aggression and Violence (IPAV) have an increased probability of using corporal punishment with their children. This is an important finding for those investigating child abuse cases when trying to determine the likely perpetrator of child abuse. It has already been established in published literature that there is an increased likelihood that a person who uses corporal punishment on a child would also abuse a child. Therefore, in homes where domestic violence is present, we now have published literature demonstrating a causal link between domestic violence and child abuse, via the connecting link of corporal punishment. Domestic leads to increased risk of corporal punishment, which leads to increased risk of child abuse.

The authors explain that there is statistically significant evidence that a victim of domestic violence is likely to inflict abuse on a child. Why? They offer two (2) explanations: Coercive Family Process (known as Patterson's theory) and Social Cognitive learning (Bandura's theory). The coercive family process is explained by the authors as an escalation of violence which occurs due to positive reinforcement after aggressive events. The social cognitive explanation is based on the normalization of observed behavior. Meaning, more specifically, that adult victims of domestic violence learn that violence is "normal" in her environment, and is part of what the authors describe as an "intrafamilial cycle of aggression" The authors demonstrate and highlight that an adult victim of domestic violence has increased odds of using corpoporal punishment.

While it would be easy to see, from a lay person's perspective, how the aggressor in an abusive adult relationship might be suspected to be the most likely person to inflict physical abuse on a child, this study confirms that is NOT necessarily the case.

In my opinion, if you are investigating a case where a child has been shaken or suffered abusive head trauma, it is critically important to determine whether there is domestic violence in the home or homes where the child has been left alone with adults. While most child abuse occurs when children are alone with the perpetrators, and children are too young to testify about what occurred to them - domestic violence is more likely to be witnessed and, by definition, there will be an adult victim who can testify that it occurred. Along with the medical evidence as to the likely time an injury was inflicted, and the importance of history related to the presentation of the abused child at the time medical care was begun, the presence of domestic violence is one more important piece of evidence which can and should be used to determine the likelihood of someone being a perpetrator of child abuse.

If you know a child who has been abused, and has suffered SBS or AHT, and you would like assistance on determining whether there is anything that can be done to help you help the child, feel free to contact the Keane Law Firm at no cost by toll-free phone (888-592-KIDS (5437), or through the internet. We will tell you if we can assist you in helping your child - either in a child abuse lawsuit, or shaken baby syndrome lawsuit, or head trauma lawsuit. This may help you obtain money which will help survivors of child abuse, survivors of shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma with home health care, a van or a home in which they can move a wheelchair easily.

Repeated and missed signs of child abuse|New study highlights that confessed perpetrators of AHT/SBS often repetitively injure or shake a child|Shaken baby syndrome lawsuit|Child Abusive Head Injury Lawsuit

In the September 2010 issue of Pediatrics, Catherine Adamsbaum,M.D., Sophie Grabar, M.D., Ph.D., Nathalie Mejean, M.D. and Caroline Rey-Salmon, M.D. published a retrospective observational study entitled "Violent and Repetitive Shaking is Common in AHT", Pediatrics, Vo. 126, No. 3. The interesting study examined 112 cases. 29 included confessions by the perpetrator, and 83 did not. In the confessed cases, previous signs of child abuse were found in the medical records of 27% of the children - 93% of whom were under one year of age. The most common sign of abuse was bruising in non-ambulatory infants - found in the records between 1 week to 2 months before infliction of the acute catastrophic abusive head trauma. The authors reported that in none of these cases did the presence of the bruising lead to suspicion of the diagnosis of child abuse. Also, with respect to the act of shaking the infant (as opposed to inflicting previous abuse such as tissue damage which resulted in bruising, etc.), 55% of the confessed perpetrators described repeated episodes of violent shaking. The mean number of shaking episodes for the repeat shakers was 10. 62% of those repeat shakers described immediate periods of exhaustion in which the child would go to sleep after they shook the infant. All of the repeat shakers reported that they shook the babies to stop them from crying.

If you know a child who was shaken, and you want to see whether they had previous signs of abuse like the 27% identified in the Adamsbaum study, contact the Keane Law Firm for free at 888-592-KIDS (5437), or on the web. We will examine your child's case for free with world-renowned child abuse experts to determine whether or not prior signs of abuse were present and should have been detected, and reported to child protective services. If we find that prior signs of abuse existed, should have been detected and should have been reported to child protective services, we will then represent your baby on a tongenc basis - meaning there will be no fee paid unless we win, and then it will be paid out of any settlement or verdict or judgment. You and your child will not have to pay money out of your pocket to have us perform this service.

Scott Juceam and Rudy Delgado - 2 dads you need to know|Shaken Baby Syndrome|Resources for families who have lost a baby or whose baby was injured by SBS

I recently had the honor of spending time with two (2) amazing dads that you need to know if your family has lost a child to shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma, or if your child is a survivor of SBS/abusive head trauma - Scott Juceam and Rudy Delgado. These two men have taken the worst thing that could happen to a dad - to have his child killed - and have chosen to make the rest of their lives meaningful by not only leading child abuse prevention efforts around the country, but also by lending emotional support to families whose pain they have shared firsthand. Scott's daughter, Hannah Rose, and Rudy's son, Xavier, live on in the hearts of their dads every minute of every day, and their shortened lives now have international meaning and significance because of what these men are doing. They are helping others who need some guidance, inspiration or just a shoulder to cry on. Scott and Rudy, you're an inspiration and example for everyone.

Contact Scott through his website: http://www.dontshakeyourbaby.com/

Or, follow him via twitter at:

http://twitter.com/protectakid

Find Rudy on facebook at Xavier's prayer page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Prayers-For-Baby-Xavier/165223192505?v=info