False Child Abuse Charges Caused Couple to Lose their Home, Job, and two Children Before Being Cleared 2 Years Later

Sons of Lorina Troy.

Health Impact News

Parents fight for change after mistaken child abuse allegation

Excerpts:

Lorina Troy is on a mission to make sure what happened to her doesn’t continue happening to others.

“My children were wrongfully taken from me for five months and placed into the foster care system,” Lorina Troy said.

Five years ago, in Austin, Texas, doctors found fluid inside the head of Troy’s second-born son, JJ. She says they automatically assumed it was Shaken Baby Syndrome.

“I told the pediatric neurosurgeon, ‘My son has never been hurt in any way, could this be something else?’ And he told me, ‘Yes, but since he’s a baby and can’t talk, we’re just going to go with abuse’ and he just walked away,” Troy said.

Soon after, JJ, and the Troy’s four-year-old son were taken away by Child Protective Services.

It took five months for Troy and her husband, Jason, to get their kids back. And two more years passed before JJ was properly diagnosed with Benign External Hydrocephalus. It’s a rare condition where spinal fluid can build outside of the brain, leading to swelling.

To make matters even more complicated, The Troys also had to prove their innocence. They spent $80,000 dollars in attorney fees, had to sell their house and Jason lost his job. It took more than two years and the accurate diagnosis for the couple to finally be cleared of all charges. Troy says the whole ordeal led her to action, and taught her there are other families in the same situation.

“Families are contacting me in Oregon, Arizona, California, Texas, Tennessee, just all over. Florida, New York, New Jersey… it’s crazy, like it’s everywhere,” Troy said.

Troy is now working with Texas lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow parents to get a second opinion from an independent medical expert before a child can taken out of the home. But she’s not stopping with Texas. Troy is already meeting with representatives in California, and she plans to make her way around the country raising awareness about her family’s case.