Mum Ignored Baby's Broken Bones
Yet another shocking story of some poor child in this country left in terrible pain for weeks. Why aren't the mothers sterilised when it is obvious they are useless (a danger to the child) as a parent? Fortunately as far as I know it is not an everyday occurance.
A YOUNG mother ignored her baby's broken arms and legs and serious chest injuries for three weeks before seeking medical help, a court has been told. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has denied causing the appalling injuries to her nine-month-old daughter.
But she has pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court to one count of cruelty to a child under 16 by failing to provide medical help. The court was told the woman, who was 18 at the time, had been living with her de facto partner at a caravan park in Brisbane's west in 2003 when the injuries occurred.
Details of the injuries were not read out in court, but court documents reveal they included seven fractured ribs discovered by hospital staff who eventually examined her in August 2003. Her right leg was broken in three places, and her right arm in two places. The other two limbs were also broken, and she had a severe chest injury that caused fluid to leak into her lungs.
She could not be fed orally during her stay at the Mater Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. The Crown rejected submissions from the mother that she sought earlier medical help for her daughter, but was turned away from a hospital. The court was told the child is now the subject of a protection order until she is 18 years old. The woman's two other children were also in care. Judge Fleur Kingham adjourned sentencing the woman who is now five months pregnant with her fourth child until a later date. Judge Kingham has requested further information from the Department of Child Safety.