Florida’s Top Child Abuse Doctor Exposed – Second Opinions by Other Doctors Not Allowed When Examining Child Injuries

With the recent, negative media attention focusing on the sub-specialty Child Abuse Pediatrics, Dr. Bruce McIntosh, the statewide medical director of nearly two dozen child protection teams in Florida, has broken his silence to speak out in defense of these Child Abuse Pediatricians (CAP’s). According to a story by Katie LaGrone with WPTV in West Palm Beach, Dr. McIntosh is quoted as saying: “We do not set out to diagnose abuse; we set out to find out what happened.” Katie LaGrone reports, “This is the first time Dr. McIntosh has responded, on the record, after their investigation found several families were wrongly accused of child abuse by child abuse pediatricians who work for the state as experts on abuse.” The response was the result of questions posed by WPTV regarding a 2017 training video they found on the state child welfare website. The video includes 62 minutes of Dr. McIntosh and state legal experts presenting common defenses in child abuse cases and why those defenses are false. Dr. McIntosh claims these false defenses are often made by hired witnesses to offer alternative explanations for the child’s injuries. What McIntosh and others fail to mention is the fact that child abuse pediatricians are paid by the prosecution to testify in these cases as well. They are paid because most of them are “hired” or contracted with the state to consult on suspected abuse cases and testify for the prosecution. Often times, the Child Abuse Pediatrician is the primary and/or only expert witness for the prosecution. This is never told to families when they are being questioned by the Child Abuse Pediatrician in the hospital.