The depressed skull fracture seen on the CT scan of 18-month-old Garth Leippi would have required “a lot of force,” a specialist in radiology testified in Red Deer court on Thursday.
Dr. James Mangin, chief of radiology at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, said the force needed would be similar to injuries from a vehicle collision or a fall from the height of a ladder or higher.
“It’s always trauma,” said Mangin during the second-degree murder trial of Evan Caswell Gilmer, 33, of Red Deer.
The child was taken to the hospital’s emergency room at 6:47 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2008, where the head injury was discovered.
The jury watched Mangin describe the damage to Leippi’s brain and skull as they watched CT images on a screen in the Queen’s Bench courtroom.
A blow to the back of the child’s skull caused his brain to shift forward, causing a subdural hemorrhage affecting his entire brain.
His brain was pushed down into the base of his skull from the brain swelling.
“Everything is just compressed together because it is so swollen.”
Mangin said it would have taken up to eight hours to see the damage in a CT scan from the time of impact.
A CT scan of Leippi’s chest showed a partially collapsed lung, which was not caused by trauma to the ribs.
— copyright Red Deer Advocate