bilateral head injury

[cricket1962]

I was in a wreck two days ago i had my 2 month old in the front in his carseat because he vomits and chokes and also has a heart condition so i was terrified to put him in the back. he is now in the hospital with bilateral skull fractures and some bleeding on the brain. Not only am I scared to death for my child that he will be ok but now i am having to deal with DCF in our state saying that he could not get that type of head injury from the wreck. Both air bags deployed and i look like someone beat me from the airbag,but it doesn't matter I am sick over not being able to be with my son can you please tell me if this type of injury can happen from the airbag. he weighed 12ponds and 1ounce a week ago at the Dr. thank you for your time

[ggreg]

Dear Cricket,
I re-read your original post again this morning, and I realized your question had to do with the child protective services people saying your baby's injuries could not have happened from the air bag.  I'm sorry I confused what you said.  Anyhow, there is a world of evidence out there that, as I said in my first post, when an airbag deploys with a baby in the front seat, it can seriously injure or kill the child.  A lawyer, as both of us posters have said, is what you need now, because he can pull up all the stats on how babies are injured and die in accidents like yours, and since one of the references I gave you said the air bag being so close to the child's head is how come this happens, once the folks doing the investigation are given all the info on this subject, they'll realize how uneducated they are and will likely drop the investigation or at least let you see your child.
GG

[caregiver222]

You have received absolutely positively correct advice from ggreg. You need an attorney of yesterday. I have been involved several times with just-misseds, wannabees, and never-was's working for DCF and adult protective services who have caused untold pain by making such unsubstantiated claims. These agencies have been "burned" so many times by "not taking action" that they often end up going too far in the other direction. The first thing you need to do is to obtain the ambulance call reports. Then you need copies of all medical information regarding your son. One side of me says not to say anything to them without an attorney present, but this may not be practicable, and may make them mad. At the very least carry a tape recorder and quetly tape all conversations. Before too much time passes finout the names of everyone working on the shift, especially the triage nurse, when you came in and the names of everyone on the next shift. Weeks from now this critical information will disappear into the mists. Try not to be too upset, as this has happened to others. In one case I am aware of DCF passed out brochures to EMT's with a confidential number to report any case that they thought might involve child abuse. With due respects to the majority of EMT's a number of them don't have fifty-two cards in the deck, and are very overenthusiastic in their rolls, seeing themselves as police officers or CSI investigators. The initial problem may have well been caused by the ambulance crew. Once such a statement is made, the ER has little choice but to go to general quarters. Your attitude should be one of righteous indignation. Do find an attorney immediately.

[ggreg]

Dear Cricket,
I am so sorry your son was hurt in that car accident, and I feel for your injury and anguish.  And only a medical person can understand the forces that wreaked havoc inside your car.  But I do think you need to get a lawyer, so let me explain why.

According to the AAP.org, the website for the American Academy of Pediatrics, when using a rear-facing child seat, the rule is the seat should not be put in the front seat, which I'm paraphrasing.  They say this is because if the airbag deploys, it will hit the back of the car safety seat, which is where the baby's head is, and this can cause serious injury or death.  However, they also say that with so many seats on the market, "it's no wonder many parents find this overwhelming."

In fact, according to childrenshospital.org, statistics show that when vehicles are stopped and checked, nationwide 85 percent of child safety seats are found to be improperly used, which I'm paraphrasing.  At the same website, they say among the most common MISTAKES is:  Infants placed rear-facing in front of an active air bag.  I think the word "mistakes" speaks volumes about what happened to you.  You did not deliberately put the child into danger; and in fact, you thought the least dangerous thing you could do on account of the child's illnesses would be to keep her up front with you.

I think taking into consideration just these two references, that anybody who prevents you from seeing your child is taking the MISTAKE of the car seat thing too far.  If nothing else, while the government investigation is ongoing, they should at the very least allow you to be with the child as long as an objective person is present.  A sick child NEEDS their parents' reassurance, the sounds of their voices, their smell, their touch, their sensitivity, their love.

You must absolutely immediately get a lawyer who is expert in child protective agency law, who can quickly get a release of some kind from a judge to let you be with your baby, until the government can sort through their case.  By the way, I am so sorry your child was so badly injured, and my prayers are with you.  And even though you can't be with him physically at the moment, know that your son feels your spirit with him, and also feels the Good Shepherd's spirit.  And remember:  IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT.  IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.  And besides, your son could have been in the backseat and might have been hurt even worse, for all anyone knows.
GG