Urgent Call to Action – Medical Misdiagnosis Injustice in Florida

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URGENT: The Patterson Family Needs Immediate Help 

The Pattersons have fought for four years, trying to get someone to hear the truth; their twins are medically fragile, not victims of parental abuse. The system that is supposed to help children and families is the very one causing the harm.

Being factually innocent is not the same as legal innocence (being acquitted because the state failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt). The Pattersons are blameless, not because of a legal technicality, but because they did not abuse their twins. 

You Are The Power reached this conclusion based on evidence and facts, not on theories, hunches, or mathematical probabilities. The factual innocence standard we uphold requires us to be right 100% of the time, unlike child welfare agencies nationwide.

Our conclusion of factual innocence is further supported by a dozen independent medical experts. Dr. Jason Schulman, a physician with 30 years of experience, who is board-certified in Pediatrics and holds State Board Certification in Child Abuse and Neglect, wrote in his report in support of Michael and Tasha:  

“I do not see, in my exhaustive review of the chart that the court and the Child Protection Team were aware that the mother and these children have a mutation of the FN1 gene that can be a cause of fractures and bruising as a possible explanation for the totality of findings, given that there was no history of abuse, and fractures continued to occur even after the children were removed from their parents’ custody. I am asking the court to reconsider and release the children back to their parents.”

Florida DCF Secretary Taylor Hatch, who is a mother herself, has the authority to reunite the Patterson family and assist a factually innocent family in beginning their healing process. Four years of needless suffering must end.

 

Here's how you can help us reunite this family

Email and/or Call the DCF and SCPT officials listed below (Tapping or clicking the mail link will provide a pre-formatted and addressed email, simply personalize with your name)

Email Template:

Dear ______

I am deeply troubled that, despite overwhelming evidence of innocence, Michael and Tasha Patterson’s children have not been returned to their care after four years and may be adopted, further traumatizing an innocent family.

A misdiagnosis of abuse is an irresponsible action that poses a grave risk to innocent parents and their medically fragile children alike. Dr. Jason Schulman, a physician with 30 years of experience, who is board-certified in Pediatrics and holds State Board Certification in Child Abuse and Neglect, wrote in his report in support of Michael and Tasha: “I do not see, in my exhaustive review of the chart that the court and the Child Protection Team were aware that the mother and these children have a mutation of the FN1 gene that can be a cause of fractures and bruising as a possible explanation for the totality of findings, given that there was no history of abuse, and fractures continued to occur even after the children were removed from their parents’ custody. I am asking the court to reconsider and release the children back to their parents.”

Please act swiftly and help reunite Michael and Tasha with their children.

Respectfully submitted,

YOUR NAME

Phone Script

Script:

My name is ______________, and I am calling on behalf of Michael and Tasha Patterson.

Four years ago, Florida DCF seized their children on suspicion of abuse. Since then, overwhelming independent evidence has been presented documenting that no abuse occurred; their children are medically fragile.

The Patterson children have been diagnosed with a medical condition that not only explains their symptoms medically but also lawfully, further confirming that Michael and Tasha are factually innocent.

I urge you to do the right thing and help reunite Michael and Tasha with the children.

Thank you for your time.

The Patterson Family Story

Michael and Tasha Patterson are at risk of permanently losing their children. 

Nearly four years ago, the state of Florida removed their medically fragile children based on a diagnosis of abuse that has since been widely challenged by medical experts. 

Since that time, multiple independent physicians, including a former Child Protection Team (CPT) doctor who previously worked within Florida’s own system, have reviewed the case and found that the children’s injuries are consistent with underlying medical conditions, not abuse. 

Despite this, Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) is actively moving forward with adoption. 

DCF leadership has acknowledged concerns in this case. Secretary Hatch publicly agreed to meet with a family advocate to review the evidence, but that meeting has still not taken place. 

This situation is now critical. 

Adoption is a permanent and irreversible decision. If it proceeds, Michael and Tasha may lose their children forever, regardless of what medical evidence continues to emerge. 

They are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair and thorough review of the medical evidence before a life altering decision is made. 

We are urgently calling on Florida DCF to: 

  • Honor its commitment to review this case 
  • Meet immediately with the Patterson family’s advocate and counsel 
  • Fully and objectively consider the independent medical findings 
  • Pause all adoption proceedings until this review is completed 

A decision of this magnitude must be made based on complete and accurate information, not while serious medical concerns remain unresolved. 

The Patterson Family

Michael and Tasha Patterson are loving parents whose three children were prematurely seized by Florida child protective services in 2022, and they have been fighting relentlessly to reunite their family ever since. The Pattersons were falsely accused of abusing their medically fragile twins, and subsequent medical evaluations revealed that they, like their mother, have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome—a genetic connective tissue disorder. The twins were also diagnosed with Metabolic Bone Disease. These conditions were found to be the underlying cause of their susceptibility to injury.

The twins have documented injuries dating back to when Tasha was pregnant, during their birth, and while hospitalized. The twins suffered additional injuries in state care due to their medical fragility. Only after proper preventative medical interventions were implemented did the twins’ injuries subside.

One of their medical experts, the founding father of child abuse pediatrics, Dr. Eli Newberger, reviewed the Patterson case. He determined that no abuse occurred, but rather, this is an instance of medical misdiagnosis, and that the accusing Child Protection Medical Provider violated the standards of care for child abuse pediatrics.

Despite overwhelming evidence of innocence, the children have not been returned to their parents and could potentially be adopted. Michael and Tasha are fighting to vindicate themselves from false allegations and reunite their family.

The Patterson case has led to the proposal of Florida Senate Bill 304 and Florida House Bill 511. These bills aim to give parents the right to a second medical opinion in cases involving allegations of abuse. Despite these efforts and the fact that lawmakers have declared Michael and Tasha to be factually innocent, they are still without their children. The situation has been described by former dependency judge and Florida Representative Patt Maney as a ‘miscarriage of justice’, highlighting the urgent need for action and effective reform.

The Florida Department of Health/Children’s Medical Services Program oversees the Child Protection Team in Florida, which misdiagnosed the Patterson twins, leading to the cascade of injustice that the family has needlessly endured. The Child Protection Medical Provider who wrongfully diagnosed the Patterson twins as abused was not certified in Child Protection by the State of Florida at the time she made the allegations against Michael and Tasha, and even more troubling, she was not certified during their trial, where she gave damaging testimony. This same physician is no longer a part of Child Protection Services, yet the Pattersons are still trying to undo the damage she caused nearly three years ago.

Using the template in the tab below, please email DCF Secretary Taylor Hatch, DCF Chief of Staff Samuel Kerce, and the Statewide Child Protection Team Medical Director, Dr. Carol Lilly.

Respectfully ask them to help undo the harm to the Patterson family and reunite Michael and Tasha with their children. Your support is crucial in this fight for justice.

THE PATTERSON FAMILY IN THE NEWS

April 3rd, 2025 South Florida mother shares her testimony in front of the Senate in support of Patterson’s Law

Donate to the Patterson Family