Nigel and Dayna are a coupled who were plunged into a nightmare. When their infant daughter Emily had a seizure, the doctor in charge insisted that the only thing that could have caused it was shaken baby syndrome. Despite the parents insistence that wasn't the case Nigel was arrested and charged with the crime. What resulted was a long battle to clear his name and the discovery that many people are charged with the crime despite being innocent.
Truly frightening tale is something that any parent could end up in the middle of. While I completely understand the need to protect the children the insistence that the parents are in the wrong with zero investigation is frightening. Decades ago, my uncle was accused of throwing my cousin from their moving car when the toddler managed to open the door and step out. This was well before the mandatory child car seat laws, and it took a while to sort it out - and my cousin telling authorities that he indeed do that. Of course, a baby can't do that which makes things worse.
SHAKEN is a wakeup call. It is a film that should act as warning that what things appear to be isn't always the case and that there is other reason for a child to have a seizure. The film ends with a frightening line to the effect that while every year over a thousand children are diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome, they don't know how many false positives are.
I was rattled by the film because I'm left to wonder how many parents are in jail that shouldn't be. More damning is how many relationships and families are destroyed by false accusations?
Recommended.
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