A Courtroom Diagnosis: Countering the Defense of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Mild OI

A Courtroom Diagnosis: Countering the Defenses of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Mild Osteogenesis Imperfecta in Child Abuse Cases,American Prosecutors Research Institute, 16 Update 8 (2004) 

Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 16-13

7 Pages Posted: 19 May 2016 Last revised: 13 Jul 2016

See all articles by Joelle Anne Moreno

Joelle Anne Moreno

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law

Date Written: 2004

Abstract

In child abuse cases involving multiple fractures, prosecutors and investigators are increasingly facing a relatively new defense. In some jurisdictions, judges are allowing defense medical experts to testify that infants have not been abused, but instead suffer from a mild form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) or a purported variant of OI, Temporary Brittle Bone Disease (TBBD). These diagnoses are offered in cases where the injuries are highly specific for abuse because they involve: (1) fractures typical of abuse in different stages of healing; (2) infants who have tested negative for conventionally diagnosable metabolic bone diseases (including OI); and (3) infants whose bones do not continue to fracture after they are placed in protective custody. 2 It is critically important for doctors, investigators and prosecutors to be able to distinguish bone disease from abuse because OI is the most frequent medical/legal defense in suspected cases of child abuse.3 This article will provide a brief and general overview of what is currently known and accepted in the medical literature about OI, and then examine more controversial diagnoses such as TBBD. Finally, strategies for prosecutors will be discussed for dealing with bone disease defenses.

Keywords: Temporary Brittle Bone Disease, Child Abuse, Expert Testimony, Medical Witnesses, Radiology

Suggested Citation

Moreno, Joelle Anne, A Courtroom Diagnosis: Countering the Defense of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Mild OI (2004). A Courtroom Diagnosis: Countering the Defenses of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Mild Osteogenesis Imperfecta in Child Abuse Cases,American Prosecutors Research Institute, 16 Update 8 (2004) , Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 16-13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2781595

Joelle Anne Moreno (Contact Author)

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law ( email )

11200 SW 8th St.
RDB Hall 1097
Miami, FL 33199
United States
305-348-1152 (Phone)
305-348-7293 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
253
Abstract Views
1,431
Rank
219,894
PlumX Metrics