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Reporting of Child Abuse Case Questioned: Paducah Police Traveled To Louisville After An Injured Infant Was Transferred There.

Posted on: Thursday, 12 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By Anne Thrower, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Jan. 12--A local social worker or police are generally notified of possible child abuse before a child is flown to Louisville or Nashville, Tenn., for treatment, a local supervisor with the state Cabinet for Families and Children said Wednesday.

That allows the social worker time to examine the baby, and determine if neglect or abuse has occurred, before the infant is transported. If the baby has already left, the social worker has to travel to where the baby is staying in order to document the incident, said Bridget Maxie, a family services office supervisor in Paducah.

According to police reports, that procedure was not followed Sunday night when 3-month-old David Hamilton V was brought to Western Baptist Hospital. The infant was transferred to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville and had been there for several hours before a local social worker or police were notified of a suspected child abuse case. Within hours of learning of the suspected abuse, two Paducah detectives were on their way to Louisville to investigate.

For privacy reasons, Maxie said Wednesday she was not able to talk specifically about the child, whose father, David Hamilton IV, 21, of Paducah was charged Tuesday with second-degree criminal abuse.

State law says hospital workers, teachers and others have to report cases of child abuse to a local social worker or law enforcement or local prosecutor as soon as they suspect abuse.

Police say the infant was shaken sometime either late Saturday or early Sunday. The baby was unconscious when he arrived by ambulance at Western Baptist at 10:59 p.m. Sunday.

Dona Rains, a spokeswoman for Western Baptist, said the baby was transferred at 2:45 a.m. on Monday. Rains said the hospital's social worker reported the case to the local Cabinet for Families and Children social worker, but didn't know at what time. Rains said proper protocol was followed.

Police say they first learned of the possible abuse case shortly before 9 a.m., more than six hours after the baby was transported.

Maxie said scenarios differ. Sometimes social workers are notified first of possible abuse; other times, law enforcement is the first to know. Once social workers are called, they go within the hour to wherever the child is staying for face-to-face contact, she said.

David Hamilton V remained in critical condition Wednesday at Kosair, according to a hospital spokeswoman. His mother has not been charged in connection with the injuries.

Police say several hours passed between the time the child was injured and when the child became unconscious, which is not unusual.

Debbie Acker, a child fatality nurse with the Cabinet for Families and Children, said Wednesday that if a child is excessively shaken he should always be taken to the hospital to be checked.

An infant's brain is still very soft, and his head is large compared to the rest of the body. Symptoms usually appear to be flu-like and can include vomiting and listlessness. Often the baby won't cry, Acker said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Paducah Sun

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