Shaken baby syndrome was first identified as a problem in a paper written by Dr. Norman Guthkelch, a pediatric neurosurgeon, in 1971 in the British Medical Journal. The two-page long paper was titled, “Infantile Subdural Hematoma and its Relationship to Whiplash Injuries.”
A pediatrician specializing in child abuse prevention, Dr. Carole Jenny, called the paper “the first clear, unambiguous reference in the world’s medical literature to shaking as a mechanism of head injury in infants and small children.”
Guthkelch says he first diagnosed the syndrome after noticing several infants at his hospital with bleeding on the brain, but no bruising, broken bones, or signs of abuse. After questioning parents, he found that it was a common and socially acceptable practice in the area to shake babies as punishment.
With this and other observations, the doctor developed his theory on shaken baby syndrome. Today, the syndrome is diagnosed with three conditions: bleeding on the brain, brain swelling, and bleeding behind the retinas.
If your child developed shaken baby syndrome because of a negligent or abusive physician, nurse, or other hospital staff member, contact the Philadelphia shaken baby syndrome lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 today.