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1. After their baby fell in the driveway, a doctor reported the injuries as "consistent with abuse." A later test result and a 2nd medical opinion said otherwise, but CPS failed to consider those reports.
LISTEN: This is what it sounded like when the state came for the children:
LISTEN: This is what it sounded like when the state came for the children:
2. Read the latest in our @NBCNews & @HoustonChron investigation, Do No Harm: After the Brights' baby fell, Texas Children's doctors reported abuse. But in the end, a Houston judge said it was CPS — not the parents — that harmed the children. @keribla https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/their-baby-s-fall-was-confused-child-abuse-then-cps-n1076291
3. Back to the beginning: A child abuse pediatrician reviewed 5-month old Mason's injuries after the accident — two skull fractures, subdural bleeding and retinal hemorrhages — and flagged concerns. Short falls are often scary for parents, but they rarely result in serious harm.
4. The child abuse pediatrician filed a report saying Mason's injuries didn't match Mom's description of what happened, & CPS opened an investigation. A later test result showed the baby had a condition that causes excessive bleeding, but Texas Children's never shared it with CPS
5. But the Brights did tell CPS about the bleeding disorder, and they also gave the agency a copy of a 2nd medical opinion from a Harvard-trained radiologist who concluded that falls like Mason's can indeed result in multiple skull fractures. This is how the CPS worker responded:
6. FWIW, Texas Children's Hospital provided a statement arguing that the baby might not have actually suffered from the bleeding disorder that its doctors treated him for, and they called the radiologist who provided a 2nd opinion "a child abuse 'denialist.'" Read her response:
7. Armed with the TCH doctor's statement and no other evidence, CPS got an emergency order to take the Bright children and place them in foster care. Listen as Dillon and Melissa pleaded with the caseworker that night.
8. Imagine this moment:
9. And now imagine how you'd react if this is how your 2-year-old daughter looked the next time you saw her, days later:
10. When the case finally went to court, the CPS caseworker repeatedly pleaded the Fifth as lawyers grilled him about his decision making. This is how the judge reacted at the end of the three-day hearing:
11. The kids are home now, but the Brights still struggle with the trauma. Melissa’s heart races anytime Charlotte falls and scrapes her arm, or when Mason — now a toddler — stumbles climbing down the stairs. What will doctors say if they have to rush to an emergency room?
12. OK, can we just pause for a moment and talk about how bad ass this @egconley photo is? DO NOT mess with these kids, or their lovies.
13. Anyway ... next week, following our reporting, lawmakers in Austin are holding a special hearing to begin the process of adding protections to the law for parents accused of abuse following a doctor's report. @NBCNews and @HoustonChron will be there.
14. In the meantime, look out for a TV version of the Bright case, coming soon. And please check out the other stories in our series: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/do-no-harm
