Dad on trial for abusing 4-month-old son (Waterloo, Iowa)

Dad NIGEL PARIZEK has been charged with felony child endangerment for injuries sustained by his 4-month-old son. Daddy was "looking after" the baby when the baby developed a subdural hemotoma (brain injury) similar to what one would see in a "traffic collision."

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_b52f20b6-e81b-11df-b569-001cc4c03286.html

CT and MRI scans shown in Elk Run Heights man's child abuse trial

By JEFF REINITZ, jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com wcfcourier.com
Posted: Thursday, November 4, 2010 8:55 am

WATERLOO, Iowa - An Iowa City physician told jurors injuries to 4-month-old Kyler Parizek's brain happened a few days before his trip to the hospital.

The boy's father, Nigel Parizek, 32, of Elk Run Heights, is on trial for felony child endangerment. Prosecutors allege he was looking after the child in May 2009 shortly before the injuries were discovered.

Kyler Parizek was taken to a hospital when the parents noticed he wasn't focusing and he vomited while eating.

A defense attorney said investigators jumped to the conclusion that the injuries were deliberate.

On Wednesday, Dr. Simon Kao, a pediatric radiologist with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, guided jurors through images taken during a CT scan and two MRIs. Those tests were performed between May 30 and June 8, 2009.

Kao showed where blood pooled at both the top and the bottom of the boy's brain.

"There is clearly an event that caused a subdural hematoma," Kao told jurors.

He added a significant event happened two or three days before the first scan. Kao also said the injury did not come from simple bouncing or regular handling but something more akin to a traffic collision.

Kao noted a section of the brain that had a fair amount of damage, which he said, does not heal.