Could a medical condition look like child abuse?

Certain people in society are mandated reporters, which means they must report any suspicion of child abuse to authorities as a condition of their job. While these people are usually careful and will make reports that save a child’s life, sometimes they may make a mistake.

One situation that could lead to a mistaken report is if the child has a medical condition that has symptoms that could look like abuse.

Growth issues

Certain medical conditions may cause a child to be underweight or not grow properly. To an outsider who has no idea of the child’s medical situation, it could look like the child is suffering from neglect or abuse.

Bruising problems

There are also health problems that lead to easy bruising. A child, who is already prone to bumps and bruises because kids are not careful with their bodies, who have such a condition might end up covered in bruises just from daily living. That can look very bad to someone who is not aware of the medical status of the child.

Broken bones

Some health issues lead to brittle or weak bones that can break very easily. Children with these conditions may often have broken bones. Someone could easily think this is a sign of abuse because it is not common for children to break bones regularly.

The good news is that in most situations, it is easy to prove there is no child abuse. But in some cases, an undiagnosed condition could require a lot of time to uncover and use to prove innocence against the accusations.