Ipswich, west Brisbane, mother accused of causing 11-month-old son’s severe brain and spine injuries

A mother who allegedly ‘severely’ injured her baby son has been freed on bail while the 11-month-old remains in hospital one month after the alleged assault.

Queensland Police allege the 29-year-old woman from Ipswich, west Brisbane, caused the baby’s horrific brain and spine injures which doctors say will ‘almost certainly’ lead to permanent disability.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons appeared in a Brisbane court on Saturday, a day after she was charged with grievous bodily harm.

Police will allege she assaulted the little boy at a Camira home in Ipswich on March 7. 

The court heard that the woman claims she found her son injured on the road outside their home and screamed for neighbours to help but no one came, the Courier Mail reports.

She claimed she then picked her son up and carried him inside to dial triple-0, the court heard.

Legal Aid defence lawyer Nick Douglas told the court the mother told officers in a police interview that her son had thrown his head back when she scooped him off the road and suspected he fell from a height. 

However, prosecutors say the medical evidence doesn’t support her version of events.

The 11-month-old boy suffered seizures on the morning of the incident and had been intubated and ventilated for more than a week, the court heard.

Mr Douglas told the court the mother has visited her son in hospital every day since the alleged assault.

She is also a full-time mother to two other children, a two-year-old boy and a six-year-old daughter.

The mother spent a night behind bars after she was charged with grievous bodily harm on Friday.

She appeared in Brisbane Arrests Court on Saturday where she was granted strict conditional bail.

Police allege the mother (above) caused the horrific injuries that will ‘almost certainly’ lead to permanent disability

The Department of Child Safety is aware of the incident, which was flagged with Ipswich child protection detectives following the triple-zero call.

Mr Douglas told the court the matter will likely be a lengthy case.  

‘Particularly with respect to the medical evidence, this is not a matter that will likely finalise in the next 12-18 months, I would think,’ he said.

‘These are particularly serious allegations, we can’t shy away from that.’

The court also heard the woman had two outstanding charges for alleged of mid-range drink driving and driving with a suspended licence on Australia Day.

The mother (above) was let out on bail with strict conditions after appearing in Brisbane Arrests Court on Saturday

Magistrate Terry Duroux claims early evidence from medical analysis suggests the mother was involved in her son’s injury.

‘The mechanism of injury must come back to (his mother),’ he said.

‘No medical cause was found to account (for the child’s injuries)… an inflicted injury remains the most likely cause.

‘The subject child has suffered a severe head injury that will almost certainly lead to permanent disability and may limit his life expectancy.’

The mother is required to live with her mother as part of her bail conditions and report to police twice a week.

She ican’t  contact her six-year-old daughter or a witness in the case and must seek permission from a Department of Child Safety officer to visit her son in hospital.

She will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on May 8.