Broken - #Wattys2016 Completed

Chapter 31

Court started off with Victoria being escorted to her seat ahead of everyone else. Alistair and Danny took their seats and whispered between themselves as the court room filled up with people behind them. Victoria turned half-way around in her seat.

"Don't worry, she will be here, turn around it doesn't look good," said Stacy gently touching Victoria's elbow.

As Victoria turned she caught a glimpse of her sister-in-law near the back of the room. Demi had Trevor in her arms and Misty, one of her friends was holding Amanda's hand as they found seats.

A JP entered the court from a large wooden door and the room fell silent.

"All rise for the Honourable Judge Smithy," he announced.

Everyone got to their feet as the judge entered the room and took her seat and addressed the court.

"Please be seated, court is in session, Miss Dylan your witness please."

"Thank you Your Honour, I would like to call Doctor Brian Carey to the stand please."

A tall thin blonde haired man in his mid-thirties, dressed in grey corduroy trousers and a plaid shirt took the seat next to the judge and raised his hand to be sworn in.

"Dr. Carey what type medical practitioner are you?" said Stacy.

"I am a Paediatrician."

"So in layman's terms you work mainly with pregnant women and infants?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen a shaken baby before?"

"Yes, it is much more common than most people realize."

"How can you tell that a child is suffering from being shaken?"

"The condition is called 'shaken baby syndrome', meaning on presentation there are several symptoms. Such as cranial pressure, which causes he fontanels to bulge and as a result almost always the child is brought in suffering from convulsions. Much the same looking convulsions you would see in epilepsy."

"So what makes shaken baby syndrome different from epilepsy?"

"They are vastly different conditions, epilepsy is neurological. However, shaken baby syndrome is the result of trauma, and is usually accompanied by bruising and sometimes broken bones as seen with little Emily Jacobs on presentation."

"Have you personally inspected Emily Jacobs's injuries?"

"Yes I have, she has classic symptoms of shaken baby syndrome, and there is no doubt in my mind."

"How long does it take after a baby is shaken for symptoms to show?"

"It is difficult to say, it depends a lot on the severity of the injuries. Convulsions directly result from swelling to the brain, it can take minutes, hours, days, or even weeks to manifest."

"So it is possible that Emily may have been shook weeks ago?"

"No, she had been shaken relatively close to the time her parents brought her to hospital."

"How long exactly? Minutes, hours?"

"No more than 12 hours before hand."

"May I ask Doctor how you come to that conclusion?"

"Well according to the notes from the doctor who treated Emily on the morning, the broken bones were recent."

"In your medical opinion do you think it is possible that Emily Jacobs sustained her injuries before Victoria Thorne administered first aid? Is it possible Emily had convulsions as a result of injuries sustained beforehand?"