Mac study on battered spouses & broken bones

An international study led by researchers at McMaster University suggests orthopedic surgeons and their clinics can play a key role in identifying and helping abused women.

The work suggests surgeons who work in fracture clinics unknowingly see several hundred such cases a year. But most of the women treated aren’t asked if their injuries were caused by a partner.

Researchers say studies have shown that when domestic violence escalates to the point where bones are broken, the women are at real risk of being killed by their partners, so it’s important that orthopedic surgeons start to take a role, and view it in the way the profession treats suspicious injuries in children.