Shaken Baby Syndrome in Dallas Daycare Homes and Centers

Is your child at risk of shaken baby syndrome while at daycare?

Shaken baby syndrome usually occurs in infants. However, children up to age five can suffer from SBS.  Infants and young children are prone to SBS because they have heads that are large and heavy for their body size, weak neck muscles, and delicate blood vessels in their brains.

According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, each year 600 to 1,400 American infants suffer severe brain and spinal cord injuries from violent shaking.  These injuries are classified as shaken baby syndrome (SBS) and can be recognized by the pattern of injury to the child’s brain. SBS is considered a form of physical child abuse and often occurs when a caregiver becomes frustrated with a baby that won’t stop crying. Many shaken baby syndrome injuries occur in childcare settings.
Last month, a 26-year-old man in Cary, Illinois, was charged with one count of aggravated battery to a child after shaking a 3-month-old baby girl at an unlicensed daycare. The infant required multiple surgeries for her injuries. A Colorado man was arrested for the SBS death of two-month-old left in his care. Police in Atlanta are still seeking a babysitter who disappeared after causing a severe head injury to a five-month-old.
Symptoms of SBS vary depending on the child’s age, how long they were shaken, how often they were shaken, and how much force was used. Frequent mild shaking can cause cumulative damage that is a severe as the damage sustained in one episode of violent shaking.
A child with mild brain injury from shaken baby syndrome may seem sick, sluggish, fussy, or not very hungry. He may vomit or want to sleep. Severe injuries can cause seizures, slowed heartbeat, difficulty hearing, bleeding inside one or both eyes, difficulty breathing, rigid or limp posture, loss of consciousness, or even death.

If something doesn’t seem right with your baby, see a doctor right away.

The violent shaking of SBS can cause severe and permanent brain injury, spinal-cord injuries, and bleeding in the eyes.  Twenty percent of children die within days of the injury. A child who survives shaken baby syndrome is often left permanently disabled. A full recovery is rare. Effects of SBS include:

• Learning disabilities
• Behavior disorders
• Cognitive disabilities
• Blindness or visual impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Speech problems
• Paralysis or muscle stiffness
• Seizures
• Cerebral palsy
• Other physical disabilities
• Wrongful death

The Dallas daycare abuse attorneys at the Rasansky Law Firm help parents whose children are injured in Texas childcare facilities. We use our experience and resources to help parents obtain justice in cases of severe daycare abuse, including SBS cases. To learn more, request a free copy of Jeff Rasansky’s book, Preventing, Discovering & Acting on Claims of Daycare Abuse, or contact the Rasansky Law Firm at (214) 617-1886.