Long-Bone Fractures in Young Children: Distinguishing Accidental Injuries From Child Abuse

While testifying in child abuse cases, physicians have been frustrated by the lawyer who asks, "Doctor, how did this injury happen?" The medical records and radiographs of 215 children younger than the age of 3 with fractures evaluated by a pediatric service during a 5-year period were retrospectively reviewed in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of childhood fractures. Based on these reviews, two clinicians and two pediatric radiologists...