Fits suffered by a three-month-old girl last week were the result of a fractured skull and subsequent brain haemorrhage, doctors told a court yesterday.
They said the build-up of pressure on the brain by the internal bleeding was what caused the baby girl to go into fits. The girl also had blood behind her eyes which, they said, was an indication that the child had been “shaken violently”.
The doctors were testifying in the compilation of evidence against the child’s father, 26-year-old Daniel Grech, a soldier with the Armed Forces of Malta, who is pleading not guilty to seriously injuring his daughter. Mr Grech had told police during questioning that he had shaken his daughter in a bid to bring her under control during a fit.
The child was rushed to hospital last Wednesday and was initially in critical condition. Her condition was so bad that she was flown to Mater Dei Hospital in Malta by helicopter to receive further care.
The doctors told Magistrate Neville Camilleri that the fractures to the child’s skull did not show up immediately in the X-rays but a CT scan revealed the true extent of her injuries.
The doctor who examined her first at the Gozo General Hospital, consultant paediatrician Simon Mifsud, said that, apart from the bruising, there was nothing that could explain the fits.
Dr Mifsud said Amy had bruises on her shoulder, several bruises on her back, on her tummy, over her ribs and on her forehead.
She also had two linear bruises on her buttocks.
There was another large bruise on her right temple, which was swelling up and was getting darker fast so, after administering emergency treatment, he sent her for a CT scan on the suspicion that she had a brain haemorrhage.
His suspicion was proven right and, when her blood count dropped to half what it was meant to be, the child was flown to Mater Dei where she was immediately admitted to the children’s ITU.
He said the collection of blood was pressuring that part of the brain which controlled the use of the arms and legs.
Another paediatrician, Mariella Mangion, said that, although his parents took the child to Gozo General Hopsital because of a fit, it was the fracture to her skull and the subsequent bleeding that caused the fits.
She also said that the blood behind the girl’s eyes was “very suggestive of a shaking injury”.
She had blood on her tongue, had a black eye and a large bruise on the back of her head
Asked to explain the fractured skull, Dr Mangion said this was caused by some sort of impact.
Professor Simon Attard Montaldo told the court he first examined the child at Mater Dei the following day. He said she had blood on her tongue, had a black eye and a large bruise on the back of her head.
He said it was the injuries to her head that had caused the fits because there was “a lot of blood in and around the brain”. He added that it was “extremely unlikely” that the injuries were sustained after the girl had a fit.
Even two days after she was admitted, the girl was still having fits, he said, adding that he could not exclude that she would have some form of disability or similar complications in the future.
The case continues in October.
Lawyer Lucio Sciriha appeared for the defence while police inspectors Joseph Busuttil and Frank Tabone prosecuted.