Disgusting excuse given by Virginia hospital after ‘evil nurse fractured bones of premature baby’ whose twin died

A Virginia hospital where babies were allegedly abused by a nurse blamed a newborn’s fracture on being born prematurely.

A grieving mother, 30, had already suffered immense heartbreak when one of her premature twin boys died in the NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond in July 2023.

Then, two months later, a doctor called her to say they had found mysterious bruises on her surviving son, who was still being treated in the NICU. An X-ray subsequently showed that the boy had somehow suffered a broken wrist.

“They told me and my husband that he had fragile bones because he was preemie,” the boy’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com.

“They actually blamed it on the fact that he was a preemie. And I didn’t believe that. Not a little.’

The mother said she and her husband were furious because she thought the bruises looked like fingerprints and confronted the staff.

“And I had them look at him and I thought, ‘Does it look like fingerprints?’ And they all nodded their heads and couldn’t give me an answer as to why this had happened.

A year later, Erin Elizabeth Strotman, 26, was charged with malicious wounding and child abuse at the hospital after seven other babies suffered fractures.

“I saw her in my son’s employ a number of times,” the twins’ mother said. “It just didn’t seem like she would be one of those people… She was one of those people you would never think would hurt a child.”

“And when I saw her initials, I immediately cried because I was just so disgusted and annoyed at the hospital and them not doing more,” the mother added.

The surviving twins were among at least seven premature babies who suffered broken bones at the hospital at the hands of a mystery worker, a state social services investigation has found.

The hospital placed several nurses on leave after three babies were injured in 2023, but more babies suffered fractures when the nurses, including Strotman, returned to work in 2024.

“I’m very angry that it took so long because this was in 2023. So it’s very disturbing that the hospital literally put her on paid leave and allowed her to return,” the mother told DailyMail.com.

The NICU in Henrico was closed in December after authorities opened an investigation into the unexplained fractures.

Investigators reviewed video from the NICU to determine whether there was staff misconduct or unreported accidents.

So far, Strotman has been accused of abusing one of the babies, with that alleged victim identified only by the initials YH.

The mother who spoke to DailyMail.com said she would like to see Strotman charged with abusing her son if officials find evidence of her involvement in his injuries.

But the experience at Henrico scarred her for life, and she has also accused the hospital of giving her other son an undignified death.

The mother said that after the twins’ deaths, she specifically spoke to hospital staff about how important it was to her that her surviving son received the best care possible.

“After our son died, we came to visit our other twin when we weren’t at work to make sure all the nurses knew his brother had died and we don’t want this to happen again,” the mother said.

“And it was just a very traumatizing event to see and experience.”

The mother is working with attorney Peter Anderson, who says he has heard from more victims of the Henrico NICU and that a civil lawsuit is a possibility.

“Our clients trusted Henrico Doctors Hospital with their most vulnerable loved ones. The hospital’s failure to protect these innocent babies is an inexcusable breach of trust,” Anderson said.

‘Simple measures could have been taken to prevent these babies from being harmed. Instead, the hospital put profit over patient safety. We intend to hold the institution fully accountable for the serious harm done to these families and their children. We believe strength in numbers will help all victims in our upcoming civil case against the hospital.”

According to court documents, Strotman was caught on video breaking the femur of a five-month-old boy in the neonatal intensive care unit. The child was also found to have a broken right tibia and several broken ribs, the report said.

The nurse grabbed the boy — identified only as YH — by the legs and applied pressure, Detective Megan Lynch wrote.

‘Madam. Stotman was observed putting her weight on YH’s legs, Lynch added.

‘Madam. Strotman was then observed to grab both legs and push them back to where YH’s feet were near his head.

“YH appeared to be crying and in distress,” the detective wrote, noting that the boy’s left leg moved normally, but the right leg did not.”

The video was taken on November 10 after Strotman returned to work after being placed on paid leave following the 2023 infant injuries.

Detectives are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of the wider investigation.

Strotman has only been charged in one case of abuse so far, but police are still investigating whether she is connected to the other injured babies.

“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally affected by this investigation,” HCA Virginia said in a statement.

“We are grateful to the colleagues who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to the law enforcement and other agencies who worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation.”

Strotman’s arrest came after Dominique and Tori Hackey spoke out after Virginia Child Services informed them that their newborn baby Noah had been abused by a NICU worker when he suffered a broken leg following his premature birth.

Noah was doing well until Dominique noticed that his left leg was not moving.

“It was a little discolored, I told the doctor on duty, I did some x-rays and we found that he has a broken leg, so we’re going to splint it for the next two weeks, and then she was like, Do you want to hold him?” ‘ Dominique told WTVR.

Dominique attended Strotman’s arraignment on Friday, along with three of the other families who had babies who were allegedly abused in the NICU.

An X-ray showed that Noah’s tibia was broken, and according to Dominique, the hospital suggested the injury was accidental.

“That’s what they told us, that it could be done because an injection was given and maybe they did it too hard and it caused the fracture,” Dominique said.

Dominique said it worried him, so he contacted child protective services. In September, he received a review of their investigation, which found Noah had Level 1 physical abuse – the worst level in Virginia.