Welcome to the web site for Protecting Innocent Families, Inc. (PIF), an educational 501(c)(3) corporation that works to protect the civil liberties of families falsely accused of child abuse based on medical misdiagnoses.
Mission Statement
End the medical misdiagnosis of child abuse and inappropriate handling of these cases by:
- Educating the public, lawmakers, and medical and legal professionals
- Encouraging research to improve diagnostic accuracy and understand the impact of false accusations
- Uniting affected families, organizations, and communities to fulfill these goals
Background
Over the past 50 years, the problem of child abuse has been receiving long-overdue attention. The over-diagnosis of abuse, however, can also have serious consequences to children and families.
Parents of children with rare or poorly understood conditions—or even well-known conditions that predispose to findings also common in abused children—are especially vulnerable to abuse accusations. Unfounded accusations tear apart innocent families and deny or delay the care their children need.

Wrongly accused father Andrew Sprint takes the petition to a child abuse training in Seattle
The guidelines now being used to diagnose abusive head trauma are especially troubling. When child abuse doctors see certain findings or clusters of findings, even in the absence of bruising, grip marks or other signs of assault, they reject caretaker and other witness accounts in favor of medical hypotheses that are now failing the test of time. (See, for example, this exposé of shaken baby syndrome in The Washington Post.) Even though doctors in other specialties recognize a long and growing list of underlying medical conditions that can cause subdural hematoma and retinal hemorrhages, child abuse experts continue to place undue importance on intra-cranial findings. Similarly, the child-abuse community maintains that children are immune to serious injury from short household falls, even while biomechanics researchers report that padded flooring next to changing tables would save lives.
Incredibly enough, doctors sometimes diagnose abuse on the basis of fractures without testing the child’s vitamin D levels, and some child abuse experts testify that a fetus will develop normal bones even if the mother is deficient in key minerals.
The misdiagnosis of “medical child abuse,” in which doctors accuse parents of seeking unnecessary medical care for their children, is also a growing problem. (Please see this op ed in The New York Times.) As with shaken baby syndrome, this diagnosis can result when doctors fail to see the underlying source of a child’s symptoms and findings.
In addition to our ongoing educational campaigns, we are currently collecting signatures on a petition asking for an impartial scientific investigation into the evidence base for shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma and other medical diagnoses of abuse, possibly by the National Academy of Sciences, which in 2009 produced an influential report (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12589&page=1) about forensic science in the courtroom.
To read and sign the petition, please go to http://bit.ly/InnocentFamilyPetition.
Our long-term goal is to effect changes in medical and legal practices that will protect children while avoiding the disastrous consequences of false allegations.
This Site
- Cases – stories of families torn apart by misdiagnoses
- Medical Issues – controversies and misconceptions in child abuse medicine
- Resources – suggestions if you’ve been wrongfully accused of child abuse
- In the Media – a sampling of press treatments
- Updates – postings from PIF
Our Network
PIF tries to stay in touch with other organizations and individuals who share our goals, including:
- Torn Family
- The Amanda Truth Project
- Fractured Families
- Pediatric Accountability in Central Illinois
- Shaken Baby: A Diagnosis on Trial
- Shaken Baby Syndrome Resources
- Riksförbundiet för Familjers Rättigheter (translated from the Swedish as “National Association for Families’ Rights”)
- una Mamma, un Papá* (an Italian site)
- Association Adika: Une voix pour les personnes accusées á tort de maltraitance (translated from the French as “A voice for people accused of abuse or maltreatment”)
Asso Adikia (their Facebook page) - Free Jeffrey Havard
- Brian Peixoto: Struggle for Innocence
- Yhip Innocence
- Free Clayton Allison (Facebook page)
- I Stand With James
- Marsha Mills Is Innocent
- Evidence Based Medicine and Social Investigation Group
- Injustice : Syndrome du Bebe Secoue* (French Facebook group)
- Pediatric Justice Association (Facebook page only)
- Rickets an Epidemic – Medical Misdiagnosis of Child Abuse (Facebook page only)
- Andrew Sprint Wrongly Accused of SBS (Facebook page only)
* Logo courtesy of Chiara Zini, creator of the site una Mamma, un Papá
Agree
We, my wife Ellen and I, are strong supporters of this initiative.
vote for righteousness. Isa 42.
Absolutely! I heard about this just today at a California Women’s Coalition Board Meeting.
I stand up for my lovely wife Megan Griffith, Audrey Edmunds, Salli Shultz, THE KJo Hyatt, and all the innocent I have not met. God bless you all.
Thank you, Mr. Keller. Best wishes to you and your family.
Don and I support this initiative.
Thank you.
Thank you for your from-the-heart account. I am glad you were able to defend yourself effectively.
I personally know the devestation a wrongful accusation can cause a person and their families, even the extended portion of family.
I am one of the fortunate cases. We won at the DFS appeal level due to much documented conversations between myself and the child’s family, regarding various concerns on my part, as well as a vast amount of pictures i had taken nearly each day the child was in my care. I am very glad that I am a documenter, however so many people are living normal every day lives and sadly this impacts any and everyone that ever has any type of interaction with a child.
I support this quest. I believe that the accusers should also have a heavier amount of accountability and liability held on them. Especially when evidence is ignored or blocked/redacted to merely support their accusations in gross efforts to support their case.
Through this tragic personal crusade we learned that our trust level has greatly diminished in protective services. No one was there to protect my children and what was happening around them. No one protected them from one on one private and confusing conversations. No one protected them except us….the parents.
My heart goes out to Megan, her children and family and to all those affected by such heinous accusations.
There are real abusers out there, sadly. They are not going through such insidious trials. This must stop!!!
My prayers are with all. May the truth come to the forefront.
I hope everything works out for all of you. God Bless!!
I still thank you for sharing our story..
Thank you for giving us permission to share it, and congratulations on your successful fight against the accusations.
The fact that doctors more often default to an abuse diagnosis, without equally considering underlying medical conditions that may, in itself be fatal if undetected, is neglect and abuse by the doctors themselves. The children pay the price physically and emotionally by not being properly treated for such conditions, but instead are treated for abuse. It’s all in the name of money and corruption. Sign this petition and know your civil rights as a U.S. Citizen, knowledge is power in these cases.
Does your organization have anyone in Austin, TX??
We need any and all help or information that you can give us please. My family has been railroaded by wrongful accusations too. Our children have suffered from the DFPS and how they try to keep children in Foster Care as long as possible in order to collect Federal Funding. I hope this corruption ends soon and no more families have to go through this nightmare.
Thank you, God Bless!
Hello my name is Latasha Humphries, please send me a face book friend request I may have some information that will interest you as it pertains to your case and the area in which you live.
Hello, my name is Latasha Humphries. I am currently in a struggle of my own involving a misdiagnosed sbs and my 3 year old daughter. As I research for help and guidance I have noticed several Ohio card that all involve summit county and Akron children’s hospital. This is just an observation but perhaps w could start a petition of sorts for a formal investigation? How would that work?
I support this campaign!!