Is it standard procedure in emergency rooms to suspect a spouse of abuse?

[Cecilie1200]

I don't know.

The left leg was broken, because a couple months earlier, a stack of drywall had fallen on it at work, and snapped both the tibia and fibula. I suppose that kind of injury could be caused by spousal abuse, but it was not at all difficult to establish how it happened in my case, and that my wife was nowhere nearby when it happened, so no way she could have had any part in causing it.

The muscle spasms remain rather mysterious to me. I cannot say with absolute certainty that they have anything to do with the broken leg, but I never had any such issues before I broke my leg. Various doctors have seemed not to consider it unusual for such muscle spasms to occur in someone who's had the kind of injury I had, but none have been able to help me understand how a pair of broken bones in one leg can lead to muscle spasms in parts of the body away from the fractures. And I have a very difficult time understanding why anyone would suspect my wife of having had any part in causing that issue.

I doubt they're actively suspecting your wife of anything. It's probably more that you've shown up in the ER twice in a short span of time.

And again, it's probably more of a "standard part of routine questioning" scenario.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Yes, even when there is no spouse, they still ask. I once cut my hand pretty seriously on a broken dish in the kitchen sink. I was totally single at the time. While in the ER getting a ton of stitches, I was asked how it happened and very specifically asked if someone had done this to me.

Well, they don't know anything about your life. Could be you have an abusive boyfriend, or an asshole roommate.

Again, it's really more about giving people who are in a dangerous relationship a safe opportunity to ask for help if they want to.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I worked in a big city ER for years. Clinicians are legally mandated to report abuse. If it is suspected they have to ask.

Also, they know that, for many abuse victims, ER treatment may be the only point of contact with the outside world that they have where they can tell someone and get help.