Child abuse: medical-legal recommendations for a correct report

Key words: Child abuse, Reporting child abuse, Compensation claim

Health care practitioners have the duty to make a report to the judicial authority when assisting children who are victims of abuse or need protection as their families are unable or unwilling to provide adequate care. However, as a consequence of the vast diversity of the clinical picture in these cases, the evaluation of the medical examination may result somewhat cryptic. The authors focus on the critical aspects that the health care practitioner might face when reflecting on the opportunity to report a case whose etiology is still undetermined.