Harper
“Infants hardly ever ever bruise, and in reality, we’ve got a saying that claims if you’re too younger to cruise, you’re too younger to bruise,” Harper mentioned, referring to youngsters who aren’t but crawling, pulling up or strolling.
Citing the bruising and the mind harm, Harper testified, “It was my opinion that this was extremely regarding for abusive head trauma.”
Protection knowledgeable Dr. Joseph Scheller, a pediatric neurologist from Baltimore, testified the harm discovered on the toddler’s mind can’t be exactly dated, a degree that Harper and one other prosecution knowledgeable additionally acknowledged. Scheller additionally testified that the newborn had a “benign” medical situation — additional room and fluid between her mind and cranium — that like different benign circumstances can “flip ugly.”
Scheller
“There are pre-existing circumstances that might make an toddler prone, with none form of baby abuse — and trauma — make that toddler prone to a subdural hematoma,” Scheller mentioned. “I don’t see any proof that the subdural hematoma was a product of kid abuse, shaking or impression or any form.”
Scheller additionally testified that the newborn had accelerated head progress in step with the situation he described.
Testifying for the state, retired pediatric neuroradiologist Dr. Richard Patterson, of Minnesota, disputed that the kid had the situation Scheller described. Patterson mentioned he had seen youngsters with that situation “basically every single day” in his follow and that he didn’t discover it in imaging of the 4-month-old’s mind.
