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How to Prepare for a Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

Written by: Christopher J. Keane

Reputation Level 6

Posted over 2 years ago. Applies to California, 1 helpful vote, 0 comments

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Determine if the Person in Question Neglected or Failed to Care Adequately for the Child

Contrary to the nature of criminal cases, it is not necessary to prove that someone intentionally injured a baby in a civil shaken baby syndrome case. Civil lawsuits related to abusive head trauma (shaken baby syndrome) focus on instances of negligence rather than crimes, meaning that proof of intentional injury is unnecessary. What is important in a civil lawsuit for shaken baby syndrome, however, is whether a person or employee failed to provide adequate care for a baby or child. Even if the person charged for shaking a baby successfully avoids criminal conviction, that person can still be held liable for a child's injuries in a civil case of shaken baby syndrome. If the jury finds that the person in question neglected the child or failed to use reasonable care when handling a baby, that person may be held responsible for the resulting injuries.

Be Relatively Sure You Know Who Shook the Child

You may believe that it is required to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" who shook the baby in a shaken baby syndrome case, but that kind of proof is not required in civil court. As long as there is a "preponderance of the evidence" that the person being sued shook the child, meaning that the person in question "more likely than not" caused the baby's injury, you can potentially win your case. Although a district attorney or prosecutor may decide not to proceed with prosecuting someone if there is no proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the person shook a baby, some child injury law firms have experience handling civil cases of shaken baby syndrome in which there is limited proof.

Contact a Child Injury Lawyer Who Can Call Upon Expert Physicians to Determine the Time of Injury

Often, prosecutors and district attorneys will not proceed to trial due to an inability to prove the time in which the child's injury occurred. Making it worse, they are limited to calling only the physician, coroner or medical examiner who saw the child when calling on witnesses to prove the timing of the injury. A few child injury and child abuse law firms, however, do not face the same limitations: the right lawyer should be able to hire top physicians from around nation to prove the timing of a baby's injury.