A paediatrician on duty in Craigavon Area Hospital on the day a seriously ill 13-week old baby was admitted concluded the infant’s injuries were “consistent with physical abuse”.
The doctor was called to give evidence on Friday at the trial of 29-year old Craig Rowland who has been charged with, and denies, murdering his son Lewis.
Rowland, from Millington Park in Portadown, also denied a charge of the manslaughter of his son, who died on October 20, 2018 aged three.
In November 2015, when Lewis Rowland was 13 weeks old he was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital with serious head injuries which resulted in a permanent and severe disability.
He passed away three years later following complications arising from surgery and it’s the Crown’s case that the injuries he sustained in 2015 played a significant role in his death.
The doctor told Belfast Crown Court he was on duty on the afternoon of November 20, 2015 when Lewis was brought to hospital by his parents Craig Rowland and Laura Graham.
He was asked by Crown barrister David Russell KC about the “initial examination” and confirmed Lewis displayed bruising around his neck and face as well as a swollen and tense head.
He also confirmed that Lewis had been brought to hospital in his buggy and not by ambulance.
The paediatrician said he spoke to the parents in the resuscitation area who told him Lewis has been unsettled and unwell the night before but that he ‘seemed to settle’ after a feed.
He said: “They reported that he slept that night then on the morning of his admission he became more unsettled again and had further abnormal stiffening of limbs.
“When I asked how he got the bruising around his neck and face, they gave an explanation that it had happened the night before when they had been trying to wind him by putting their hands under his chin to support him.”
The paediatrician said that due to Lewis’s severely ill state, including a “reduced level of consciousness”, he was given oxygen and morphine, and blood tests were carried out before he was taken for a CT scan on his brain.
When asked by Mr Russell what his views were on the baby’s “initial presentation”, the paediatrician said Lewis was “extremely unwell” and needed “urgent resuscitation to save his life.”
He added: “Without any medical help, he would have died that day.”
The paediatrician then confirmed that the results of the CS scan revealed the baby had “extensive brain injury.”
Mr Russell then asked what Lewis’s parents reactions were when they were told about the severity of the brain injury.
The doctor replied that his mother “did appear tearful” while he “didn’t see any obvious reaction” from his father.
Further examinations of Lewis on November 20, 2018 revealed he also had a spinal injury which the paediatrician said was “due to trauma” as well as a “healing rib fracture” and “bleeding at the back of both eyes.”
He added that as well as a “multiple cluster of bruises around his jawline and neck”, bruises were also visible on his head and chest.
The paediatrician was then asked about a report he prepared about the injuries that he concluded were “non-accidental.”
He replied that the severity and multitude of the injuries, the “inconsistencies” given by the parents regarding the bruising, the delay in seeking medical attention and the “abusive head trauma” led him to believe this was “consistent with physical abuse.”
The jury have already heard that both Rowland and 31-year old Laura Graham, of Millington Park in Portadown, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully neglecting their son.