COMMENTARY: 'Shaken baby expert paid price for voicing an uncomfortable truth.' by James Le Fanu, published by 'The Times' on March 28, 2106. (James Le Fanu (born 1950) is a British physician, medical journalist and author of several books.[1] He is best known for his weekly columns in the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph. Wikipedia);
GIST: "The plight of parents wrongly accused of
injuring their children has been a recurring theme in this paper over
the past 15 years. During this time the seemingly impregnable case
against them that their child’s injuries are ‘characteristic’ of abusive
trauma has become increasingly uncertain. This is particularly the case
with Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)
– the contention that the combination of bleeding under the skull,
swelling of the brain and retinal haemorrhages can only be due to
violent shaking. On the contrary it is now well documented that the same
triad of injuries can follow (as the accused parents protesting their
innocence have maintained) a low level fall from a bed or sofa or an
episode of choking. ........She has paid the ultimate price of the loss of her professional reputation for articulating the uncomfortable truth that the validity of prevailing scientific theories might be in error.".........Many might thus be understandably perplexed that last Monday the General Medical Council (GMC) invoked its severest penalty of erasure from the medical register against Britain’s leading Paediatric Neuropathologist Dr Waney Squier,
whose testimony in the courts has helped secure the exoneration of
dozens of parents. The GMC’s decision is based on the findings of a
medical tribunal that her testimony to the courts in
six cases was “dogmatic and inflexible”, that she had selectively cited
the findings of studies to support her argument that injuries were not
deliberately inflicted and that, the Tribunal said, "in your evidence
to the courts and before this tribunal you demonstrated time and again
that you would lie to support your own propositions, or to avoid
conceding a point, showing little respect for your
colleagues.".........it is now well documented that the same triad of
injuries can follow
(as the accused parents protesting their innocence have maintained) a
low level fall from a bed or sofa or an episode of
choking.........Subsequently a group of 25 prominent lawyers,
pathologists,
paediatricians and neurologists rallied to her defence, asserting, in
essence, that she is a victim of a campaign to discredit her. “The case
of Dr Squier is indicative of a troubling pattern”, they argued in a letter to a national newspaper,
“where the authorities inflict harsh penalties on those who fail to toe
the establishment line.”
The entire commentary can be found at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/health-advice/doctors-diary--shaken-baby-expert-paid-price-for-voicing-an-unco/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/health-advice/doctors-diary--shaken-baby-expert-paid-price-for-voicing-an-unco/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
