Black Newborn Baby With Fractured Leg Sparks Child Abuse Investigation at Virginia Hospital

Nationwide — Noah Hackey, a newborn African American baby from Henrico County, Virginia, suffered a fractured tibia while in the NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in September 2023. His parents, Tori and Dominique, are now seeking accountability after more babies were found with similar injuries at the same hospital.

Noah was born prematurely with his twin brother, Micah, in August 2023, and was thriving until his father Dominique noticed “his left leg wasn’t moving, it was kind of discolored.” X-rays revealed a fracture in Noah’s leg, according to WTVR.

Hospital staff claimed the fracture might have been caused during an injection. However, Dominique’s mother, who is a nurse, dismissed that claim, saying fractures are extremely rare in NICUs. Worried they would be blamed, the Hackeys chose not to hold Noah after the injury.

“In my mind, I’m like, I don’t want them to turn it around on us and say we broke his leg or anything like that so I was like no, we don’t want to hold him, we are just going to process this,” he said.

The couple reported the incident to Child Protective Services, which later concluded that the injury was intentional. CPS categorized the case as level one child abuse, the most severe in Virginia.

“That definitely opened our eyes to it because nobody had said that before. Nobody said this was child abuse, this was intentional,” Dominique said. “You do anything to protect them, you vow that. As a father of my son I vow to protect them and do everything, and I am helpless.”

In October 2024, police informed the Hackeys that other NICU babies suffered similar injuries. Despite the hospital’s reassurances of safety measures like cameras and staff training, the couple’s trust was shattered after learning that three more babies experienced unexplained fractures between November and December 2024.

“We couldn’t believe it, instant anger, instant tears, because it’s not supposed to happen again, it’s not supposed to happen in the first place,” Dominique said. He regrets not speaking out sooner, feeling it could have prevented more injuries.

The hospital has since paused NICU admissions. Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor confirmed that her office reopened the 2023 investigation to hold those responsible accountable.

Thankfully, Noah has fully recovered, and both twins are thriving at home. But the Hackeys are determined to seek justice for Noah and other affected babies, hoping to prevent further harm to more babies.

“Somebody needs to be held accountable for my son, for everybody’s kid, somebody needs to be held accountable, it’s too many in such a short period of time,” Dominique said.