'Patterson's Law' would give Florida families the right to a second opinion before being charged

A proposed Florida bill known as "Patterson's Law," sponsored by Broward County Democratic Senator Barbara Sharief, would give parents accused of child abuse or neglect the right to request an independent medical examination to determine whether a child's injuries stem from a medical condition rather than abuse. The legislation was inspired by Michael and Tasha Patterson, a Tampa-area couple whose twin boys were removed from their home in 2022 after being suspected of child neglect — but who later discovered the children had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and metabolic bone disease that caused the fractures. Despite multiple physicians concluding the injuries were medical in nature, the Pattersons' parental rights were terminated. Under the bill, the accused party would be responsible for the cost of the independent exam, and child protective investigators would be required to inform parents under investigation of their right to request one