Recently, the Travis County Court in Texas, the United States, ushered in a strange case.
A man named Jason Troy filed a lawsuit in court against an Ohio-based hospital, a doctor and six U.S. federal agents for taking their children away and placing them in foster care.
At the same time, Troy himself was charged with two felonies – he was accused of violently shaking and abusing his own children at home, causing his head to swell.
It's rare for a plaintiff and a defendant to accuse each other, but what kind of bizarre story does Troy, federal agents, hospitals, doctors, and children have?
It all started with a misdiagnosis in the hospital......
Daily Mail: Doctors misdiagnosed the baby's brain condition as shaking syndrome, which led to the baby being snatched from its parents by social workers.
1. The child was born with a large head circumference, and the doctor diagnosed that he was shaken and abused
When Jason Troy and his one-year-old child, JJ, meet again, he can't contain his excitement. He took the tissue from his wife, Lorina Bourne, and put it on his eyes.
JJ's head circumference was too large when he was born, and the doctor diagnosed JJ with shaking syndrome, and alleged that Troy and Bourne were suspected of violently shaking and abusing JJ at home, causing JJ to fall ill under the influence of external forces.
Not long ago, another doctor overturned the diagnosis, saying that JJ's condition was caused by trauma at birth and not by any form of external abuse.
Just because of a doctor's conclusion, Troy lost his job. Now, he and Bourne have sold their house, sold their car, paid a large sum of money for their lawyers, and taken hospitals, doctors and related institutions to court.
Troy and Byrne, and their three children. Source: Daily Mail
On December 31, 2014, on a night when everyone was celebrating the New Year, Troy and Bourne welcomed their youngest son, Jason Jonathan, or JJ.
JJ's birth didn't go well, as he nearly gave birth to Bourne due to a large head circumference. The Daily Mail reported that it was a "difficult and complicated" birthing process.
It is reported that the percentile of the newborn JJ's head circumference reached 95th.
This percentile is used to measure the growth curve of a baby's head circumference, and in general, if a child's head circumference exceeds the 97th percentile, it can be called "macrocephaly".
Head circumference growth curve in boys aged 0-5 years. Source: WHO
Head circumference growth curve in girls aged 0-5 years. Source: WHO
On May 6, 2015, when Troy and Bourne took JJ to the hospital to have his head circumference measured again, JJ's head circumference reached the 99th percentile, and swelling was visible to the naked eye.
The doctor in charge of examining JJ's body said that JJ's head was swollen or shaken by external force. He suspects that JJ's father, Troy, had committed an abusive act similar to shaking JJ at home.
In reality, JJ suffers from benign external hydrocephalus, a condition caused by fluid accumulation between the brain and skull, and JJ has never been abused or neglected.
入院治疗的JJ。 图源：Daily Mail
The incidence of benign external hydrocephalus is about 0.4 per 1,000, and the head circumference of affected infants increases markedly, with typical neuroimaging findings.
In a study published in the journal X-Mol, the research team surveyed 176 infants with benign external hydrocephalus, with an average age of 3.4 months, of whom 86.4% were boys. About half of the patients had head circumference at or above the 97.5th percentile.
The results of the experiment showed that most babies with benign external hydrocephalus were born with a normal head circumference, but the head circumference grew too fast and reached an abnormally high value before six months.
Source: X-Mol
Troy recalls that after the doctor said it was confirmed that JJ had been abused by outside forces, the child was taken away by the agency.
On May 13, James Guyton, an agent with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), approached the couple and confronted them in person about their abuse.
Guyton said Troy and Bourne are under investigation for child abuse. To do this, Troy and Bourne had to sign a one-month "safety plan" or their children would be "forcibly removed" from them.
"Under duress, Troy and Bourne signed a security plan to avoid their children being taken away," the court material said. ”
In July 2015, JJ and Troy's other child, Kainoa, was taken away. Source: Daily Mail
According to the "safety plan," Troy had to move out of the house while asking Bourne's sister or mother to move in to supervise the child's daily life and development.
At the same time, Guyton and his colleagues "interrogated" Troy's other older child, Kainoa, asking him if he had witnessed his younger brother JJ being abused and shaken vigorously by Troy, and the answer they received was no.
On June 13, 2015, Troy and Bourne set off for Oklahoma to visit his family, believing that the investigation into JJ was closed.
Troy and Bourne reported the trip to DFPS "out of great caution" before leaving, but the agency's agent, Bridgette Losey, and Superintendent Jennifer Evans said on July 13 that they needed to meet with the two.
At the time, Troy said, the "security plan" they had signed had expired and that the meeting had no legitimate purpose.
图源：Daily Mail
2. Two children were illegally placed in foster care during a surprise visit by the relevant agencies
After this visit, Troy learned from Bourne that Bourne was asked to take JJ to the University of Oklahoma Hospital for a check-up to assess his health.
During this time, Evans and Loshi called the hospital and asked for "protective custody" for JJ, which was refused.
The DFPS was "outraged" by this and immediately made the same request to the Oklahoma Child Protective Agency (OCPS), which began investigating the matter after receiving the complaint, the report said.
Soon after, OCPS concluded that the DFPS's allegations against Troy were "unsubstantiated."
图源：Daily Mail
OCPS told the court that "JJ is not in imminent danger and he has seen a doctor." ”
With the support of the OCPS, Troy and Bourne decided that the DFPS should not be in trouble again. But they were still too naïve.
Soon after, the DFPS filed a petition with the court, but they "made false statements and omitted material facts," leading the court to authorize the DFPS to unilaterally take away JJ and Kainoa's powers.
On July 20, 2015, DFPS' Losey and Evans crossed the state line and showed up at Troy and Bourne's home, taking JJ and Kay Noah away from their "loving" family.
图源：Daily Mail
Troy and Bourne never imagined that this parting would be half a year.
It wasn't until December 21 that the couple met JJ and Kai Noah.
According to U.S. law, DFPS should place a child in the home of a relative after removing it from the parents. But Troy said JJ and Kainoah were transferred to two different foster homes.
According to Troy, at the time, he and Bourne insisted that DFPS send the child to a relative's house, but DFPS agent Guyton denied the request.
Bourne later stated, "My eldest son (Kainoa) lost 20 pounds (about 9 kilograms) six weeks after he was taken away from us, and medical reports show that he is showing sadness and depression. ”
"You're used to seeing your kids every day when they're not around...... You imagine them smiling and laughing and they are not there and you can only hear the silence, which is really devastating. ”
图源：Daily Mail
The troublesome things don't stop there, in addition to the child being taken away by DFPS, Troy is also facing criminal charges.
He is accused of violently shaking the baby, causing a head injury.
Troy was downset, "It's a hard blow for me to be blamed for something I didn't do. ”
"The hospital told me that I had to pack my things and leave, and that I couldn't get near my child."
图源：Daily Mail
3. The event suddenly reversed, and JJ was not suffering from shaking syndrome
Troy, who thought he and Bourne would "live with grievances" like this, was reversed a few months after being charged.
He and Bourne found a medical specialist in Larilland and asked him to give JJ a "correct diagnosis." The diagnosis showed that JJ had benign external hydrocephalus, which was independent of whether or not he was shaken by external force.
As soon as the diagnosis was obtained, the couple submitted it to the court.
According to court sources, "the children were taken away under false pretenses. The defendant (DFPS) knew that (JJ) had not been abused or neglected. ”
"He was born with fluid in his head, which was caused by the trauma he received at birth. Bourne and Troy never abused or neglected JJ. ”
On December 18, 2015, Travis County Court dropped the charges against Troy. However, Dell Children's Medical Center, the hospital that previously tested JJ, was reluctant to revoke or amend Troy's "abuse record."
图源：Daily Mail
It is reported that the hospital still maintains records of JJ's erroneous medical treatment, which shows that JJ is a "victim of abuse or neglect, although such allegations are considered unfounded or unsubstantiated."
Troy said he had tried to negotiate with the hospital, but the hospital "refused and will continue to refuse" to update the diagnosis.
Currently, Troy and Bourne are suing the hospital, along with six DFPS employees, as well as a doctor named Kelly Suzanne Liker. Troy called Lake a "DFPS investigator embedded in the hospital."
图源：Daily Mail
It is reported that Lake works as a child abuse pediatrician at a children's hospital.
She had never treated JJ, but she was largely involved in the transfer of JJ and had a health check on him without parental consent.
Troy and Bourne demanded damages from Lake for damages caused by their professional negligence.
"Often, if parents question their [doctors'] authority, or question the diagnosis, or bring data to seek a second opinion, then parents become the target [of retaliation]," their lawyers said. ”
This may be exactly what happened to Troy and Bourne. Dr. Lake and DFPS didn't really do their job and took revenge on the couple and took their baby.
图源：Daily Mail
Bourne said the incident had taken an immeasurable toll on her and her family, and he wanted the DFPS to take more responsibility because it was "too powerful."
"My child was mistakenly taken away from me, and it took me years to come out of the emotional trauma."
"We're doing better now, but the worst day of my life was the day my kids were taken away illegally."
Bourne also said that he needs to stand up for justice and avoid similar tragedies from happening again.
"I hope justice for my son because he suffers from a life-threatening neurological condition known as benign external hydrocephalus."
"Thousands of families are going through similar situations, and many parents have contacted me over the years. Sadly, the system designed to protect children is harming children at the same time. ”
图源：Daily Mail
Ascension Health, which oversees Dell Children's Medical Center, says its top priority is to protect the safety and health of children in the community.
"As a health care provider in Texas, our Lifetime, Neglect and Care team has reasonable grounds to believe that a child is capable of being abused or neglected by anyone and must immediately report the situation to the appropriate authorities as required by law."
"We have a responsibility to work with the authorities during the investigation and allow them to make decisions that are in the best interests of the child."
图源：Daily Mail
The case is still pending, and Troy said he doesn't want to see a similar tragedy happen to any family.
Child protection laws and regulations seem to be the wrong finger in this case, as regulators, child protective agencies, and health care workers have targeted an innocent pair of parents because of a doctor's misdiagnosis.
It is clear that the "presumption of guilt" is so vividly interpreted in this child protection system that Troy and Bourne have suffered great psychological trauma.
It is hoped that a fair and just verdict will be reached in this case, which will serve as a warning to the child protection system.
图源：Daily Mail