Casey and Bailey Collins live in Troup County, Georgia, and are parents to Ridge, an eleven-month-old boy who had been born prematurely in May 2023. Bailey’s pregnancy had been considered high-risk due to Ridge being diagnosed with macrocephaly, a condition in which the head circumference is above two standard deviations: Ridge’s head circumference had been 51% at birth and had increased to 87% by August 2023.

When Ridge was three months old, his head circumference measured in the 99th percentile. Ridge’s delivery had been complicated; he had been stuck in the birth canal for one hour and had to be manually manipulated, which caused extensive bruising on his face and head and subdural hemorrhaging. His umbilical cord had also been wrapped around his neck. After delivery, Ridge had stopped breathing and had required immediate resuscitation. He had been treated in the NICU and had needed a feeding tube.

During the afternoon of August 11, 2023, Ridge had suffered a seizure and had gone unresponsive. Bailey had rushed him to the nearest fire station for help. Ridge had been life-flighted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

At CHOA, Ridge had been diagnosed with a chronic subdural hemorrhage, bilateral hematomas, retinal hemorrhages, and a healing rib fracture.

Child Abuse Pediatricians (CAPs) Dr. Stephen Messner and Dr. Keely Iannelli had asserted that the symptoms Ridge presented could have only been caused by nonaccidental trauma/injury. Neither doctor had reviewed Ridge’s birth records before making their diagnosis.

The allegations had triggered a protocol that involved DFCS and local law enforcement. Less than 24 hours later, without CHOA completing their full examination of Ridge, and absent an MRI of his brain, he had been taken by DFCS.

Casey and Bailey had then officially come under criminal investigation.

As of August 13, 2023, still at CHOA, Ridge’s brain had continued seizing. CHOA had finally ordered an MRI on August 16, 2023, five days after admission. Independent doctors not affiliated with CHOA (Dr. Sperry, Dr. Scheller, and Dr. Dickerson), after reviewing Ridge’s birth records and the results from the MRI, later determined that Ridge’s seizures had been caused by a combination of blood clots on his brain, a viral infection, and a collection of fluid between his brain and skull, and not nonaccidental trauma/injury. The healing rib fracture had been attributed to birth trauma/complications.

Ridge had suffered additional brain bleeds and had been hospitalized twice, once in December of 2023, for the same symptoms he had initially presented at CHOA. This had occurred while Ridge had not been in the care of his parents.

Local law enforcement, without doing their due diligence, had relied solely on the opinions of Dr. Messner and Dr. Iannelli and had arrested Casey and Bailey Collins. They had been charged with Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree and had not been indicted.

On April 15, 2024, a Troup County Juvenile Court judge had closed the DFCS case against Casey and Bailey. In his order, the judge wrote:

“The Court made its finding based on the testimony and documentary evidence and particularly upon the following. Dr. Iannelli did not fully exclude other causes and only spent four (4) to six (6) hours reviewing the case prior to making the abuse diagnosis. Dr. Iannelli did not review the birth record initially and was under the impression it was a non-traumatic birth due to interviews with the parents. The parents’ experts indicated that the sudden onset of symptoms can occur without trauma. All the parents’ experts stated that the parents did not cause the injury and that all the injuries were not abuse. The Court was troubled by the December 7, 2023, incident that occurred after the child was outside the care of the parents. That Dr. Scheller indicated you must exclude all other diagnoses before finding abuse, which was not done. And Dr. Dickerson had no concerns of abuse. The Court did not take into consideration the differing experience levels of the experts. After Dr. Iannelli’s testimony on December 4, 2023, the Court found her testimony clear and convincing, but the parents’ experts’ testimony on December 20, 2023, made her testimony less clear and convincing.”

On April 24, 2024, after nearly 260 days of estrangement, Casey, Bailey, and Ridge had been allowed to live together again after their restrictive bond conditions were lifted.

Factually innocent, Ridge’s health conditions had continued to be ignored by Georgia’s criminal legal system—Casey and Bailey still faced felony criminal charges.

In November, 2024, Troup County, Georgia, the district attorney’s office dismissed the criminal charges against Casey and Bailey Collins. Their son is home, and the family is officially reunited. A juvenile court judge dismissed the petition filed by DFCS for dependency in April of this year. With the formal dismissal of the criminal charges, the Collins family can now live together without fear of prosecution for a crime that never occurred.

Ridge’s Law

On Monday, May 12, 2025, Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 259, affectionately cited as Ridge’s Law. The legislation is named after the son of Casey and Bailey Collins, one of six families in the state that You Are The Power publicly supported.

The bill gives parents or guardians the right to a second medical opinion. It also requires a physician or pediatrician who takes a child into protective custody to complete a report notifying DFCS of why they suspect nonaccidental injury or abuse, along with annotating whether the doctor physically treated the child and what records were reviewed. Ridge’s Law codifies a written directive by Georgia DFCS Director Candice Broce, dated Feb. 14, 2025, that asks a physician or pediatrician who takes a child into protective custody when abuse is suspected to sign an attestation form confirming that the child’s medical history was reviewed. The directive also allows a parent or guardian to seek a second opinion.

You Are The Power would like to recognize the courage of the parents and extended family members we supported, along with their defense teams, and the countless volunteers, who worked tirelessly to raise awareness about specific medical conditions, including rickets, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, vitamin D deficiency, or other medical conditions related to the differential diagnosis of child abuse, and the need for this critical legislation.

Ridge’s Law is the first of its kind in the Southeast and provides a model for other states nationwide that lack second-opinion legislation.