Law Office of Debra M. Salisbury, PA

Law Office of Debra M. Salisbury, PA Debra Salisbury is a lawyer who practices dependency and adoption law in Sarasota & Manatee County My staff and I look forward to meeting and working with you.

About Me

I strive to handle legal matters in an expeditious fashion. My staff and I will listen to you and provide zealous advocacy. You will be provided with information as to your legal alternatives and the possible results. After explaining the legal implications of your case to you, we will honor your decisions. Check out my reviews and information on Avvo:
http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/34237-fl-debra-salisbury-1283092.html

04/02/2026

“April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month you may notice blue ‘pinwheels for prevention’ displayed outside your local children’s hospital. Symbols meant to represent hope, protection, and safe childhoods.

I used to see them that way too.

Until the day a blue pinwheel stood in the ground… for my child.

A child who was never abused.

A child I prayed for my entire life.

A child I fought to bring into this world through IVF and then had to fight even harder to keep.

That pinwheel changed everything for me.

Because behind that pinwheel was a nightmare I never imagined facing as a parent. That pinwheel for my family, and for the families who have shared their stories on this page, represented a system that got it wrong; a system that thrust us into navigating accusations that carried life-altering consequences.

I believe in protecting children. I always will. With everything in me. But I also believe these pinwheels have to mean more than checked boxes and unanswered questions.

They have to mean truth!
They have to mean thoroughness!
They have to mean accountability on EVERY side!

Advocacy for children must include ALL children, both those who are abused and those with rare medical conditions that mimic abuse. And it has to be done with both urgency and discernment.

We must protect children.
We must protect families.
And we must have the courage to get it right.”

🩵 Kaitlyn - Texas

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“As we enter Child Abuse Prevention Month, though I understand the weight of the topic and how serious it is, there is a side of the conversation that needs to brought to the table and heard.

There are parents out there who would do anything to protect their children. They have sacrificed, shown up, loved fiercely, and yet still found themselves caught in a system that labeled them as something they are not, all due to a medical misdiagnosis.

I know because I’ve lived it.

Falsely accused. Misunderstood. Judged before we were ever heard.

‘Abusers.’

And the damage? It doesn’t just ‘go away.’

It’s the trauma of being investigated like a criminal when you’ve done nothing wrong.

It’s the sleepless nights, the anxiety, the feeling of your entire world crumbling.

It’s watching your children confused, pulled into something they didn’t deserve.

It’s the kind of pain that changes you.

Child abuse is real. It is devastating. It deserves awareness, guidelines, and action. But so do the innocent families who are fractured by a system that sometimes moves too fast, listens too little, and leaves lasting scars.

You can support victims of abuse and acknowledge that false accusations exist.

You can stand for protection without ignoring the harm caused when the system gets it wrong.

Because when a medical misdiagnosis of abuse happens, it doesn’t just hurt adults, it’s hurts children. It creates instability, fear, and trauma where there should have been safety.

‘Prevention’ should never mean harm. Every child deserves both protection and truth.”

🩵 Kaylee - North Carolina

Yes!!! But so much more needs to be done to protect parental rights in Florida!
03/05/2026

Yes!!! But so much more needs to be done to protect parental rights in Florida!

‘This bill is not about weakening protections for abused children. It’s about strengthening our system to make sure we get it right.’

03/05/2026

President Trump is defending parental rights and children's health.

Today in a letter to all 50 states, AAdministration for Children and Families - ACFsent a clear message: acknowledging biological reality and exercising sincerely held religious beliefs should not constitute child abuse or neglect under federal law.

Truth
02/28/2026

Truth

Seeking medical care should not put your family at risk.
Asking questions should not make you suspect. Disagreeing with a professional should not cost you your child.

Families deserve transparency.
Families deserve due process.
Families deserve to be heard.
That’s why we’re here.

Hoping that such legislation spreads across the US
02/28/2026

Hoping that such legislation spreads across the US

The penalties for willfully filing a false child abuse claim could be more severe in Mississippi after the Senate Judiciary B Committee passed a House bill Wednesday to include thousands of dollars in fines and jail.

HB 1577 states that if a false report is filed, that person can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to one year.

Such cases ultimately have a chilling effect on families seeking healthcare for their children.
02/26/2026

Such cases ultimately have a chilling effect on families seeking healthcare for their children.

V A L E R I E | O H I O

“On February 25, 2024, when our son Lux was 8 weeks old, I noticed a lump on the side of his head that moved around. As a nurse practitioner and mom of three, I knew this was abnormal so my husband and I took Lux to the children’s hospital to get the lump checked out.

I expected imaging, maybe observation, hopefully reassurance, and then to return home to our other two children. But what I never expected was that within hours, an accusation would fracture our sense of safety and trust in the medical system.

A CT scan was performed and was interpreted as showing that Lux had skull fractures. That single interpretation immediately triggered child abuse protocols and law enforcement involvement.

We were blindsided.

Lux had no bruises. No bleeding. No retinal exam findings. No intracranial hemorrhage. His skeletal survey was normal. Yet the word ‘non-accidental trauma’ began appearing in his chart. No one would listen to us or consider other possibilities or differentials. It’s just like everyone's blinders went on. I was so worried we were missing something due to the tunnel vision that had taken hold.

By the following day, the swelling had resolved. Yet the accusation did not. We were discharged under a mandatory safety plan requiring us to be supervised 24/7 with our own children. My parents had to fly in from Florida immediately so that we could legally bring Lux home.

We walked in as parents looking for help. We walked out labeled as abusers.

We were questioned by police. Our home was searched. Thankfully law enforcement quickly expressed that they saw no evidence of abuse. But the hospital’s child abuse team continued pursuing a non-accidental trauma diagnosis. The child abuse pediatrician told us the injury could only have occurred if Lux’s head had been squeezed or struck on both sides.

The following weeks were the darkest weeks of my life. I was on maternity leave, a time that should have been filled with bonding, recovery, and newborn milestones. Instead, I spent it under investigation. We lived in a state of hypervigilance: afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of normal infant crying being misinterpreted, afraid of every knock at the door. Our older children were aware something was wrong. Our household dynamic shifted.

A follow-up with Lux’s pediatrician showed no concerns. An ophthalmology exam showed no retinal hemorrhages. Lux was thriving.

Still, the abuse label remained in his chart.

Desperate for answers, we traveled to Cleveland Clinic to see a pediatric neurosurgeon. There, a neurosurgery and neuroradiology team reviewed the CT scan. Their conclusion: Lux did not have skull fractures. The imaging showed congenital accessory sutures — a normal anatomical variant — along with a benign fluid collection. They told us this fluid collection can happen after birth, often around 8 weeks old and typically resolves on it’s own.

We felt relief and validation. Surely our ordeal would finally end. But when we provided this information to the child abuse pediatrician’s team, we were told Lux’s abuse diagnosis would not be changed.

CPS letters arrived stating abuse was ‘indicated’. We hired multiple attorneys, one to fight the indicated status and another to pursue action related to the hospital’s misdiagnosis.

Legal fees mounted. We faced financial strain on top of emotional stress. We felt powerless against a system that would not correct itself, even when presented with specialists’ findings.

Eventually, the safety plan was lifted and finally, CPS stated it was not abuse. Yet the hospital records still reflect the misdiagnosis of non-accidental trauma.

Two years ago tomorrow, a CT interpretation set off a chain reaction that assumed guilt before gathering corroborating evidence. The effects on our family still linger: anxiety at medical appointments, fear of routine injuries being misinterpreted, distrust of institutions that once felt protective.

We’re speaking out to help other families going through this. We worry about families who lack resources, medical literacy, or financial means. We will keep fighting what is morally and ethically wrong. Families deserve truth - not destruction disguised as ‘precaution.’ For now we hold our heads up high, loving our boys and fighting for justice.”

02/09/2026
01/25/2026

No amount of money can compensate her for what has occurred.

01/25/2026

Financial incentives.

Thank you Ms. Weidle for sharing your story.
01/25/2026

Thank you Ms. Weidle for sharing your story.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is being sued under RICO.
01/23/2026

The American Academy of Pediatrics is being sued under RICO.

Fantastic lawsuit filed by CHD!! 👏👏

“The suit alleges that the AAP violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by making “false and fraudulent” claims about the safety of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) childhood immunization schedule — while receiving funding from vaccinemanufacturers and providing financial incentives to pediatricians who achieve high vaccination rates.” . .
“The AAP’s conduct constitutes a pattern of fraud under RICO, a statute often used to prosecute organized crime, said Rick Jaffe, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Jaffe told The Defender that while previous lawsuits “challenged individual vaccines or sought compensation for individual injuries,” this “is a fraud case following the playbook that took down Big To***co.”

“The AAP’s actions parallel those of Big To***co, which misled the public regarding the safety of its products,” Jaffe said. “To***co created false uncertainty to manufacture doubt. The AAP did the inverse — it created false certainty to foreclose questions. Both used the trappings of science to prevent actual science.” . .
“The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks financial damages for the individual plaintiffs. It also asks the court to require the AAP to disclose the “lack of comprehensive safety testing” of vaccines, and bar the AAP from making “further unqualified safety claims” about vaccines.” . .
“The complaint states there are parallels between the AAP’s actions and those of Big To***co, including “suppression of adverse research, use of ‘independent’ scientific voices to block studies, and coordinated enterprise activity to mislead the public.’”

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/chd-rico-lawsuit-against-aap-fraudulent-vaccine-safety-claims/

Address

3293 Fruitville Road, Suite 101
Sarasota, FL
34237

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

(941) 366-1616

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About Me I strive to handle legal matters in an expeditious fashion. My staff and I will listen to you and provide zealous advocacy. You will be provided with information as to your legal alternatives and the possible results. After explaining the legal implications of your case to you, we will honor your decisions. My staff and I look forward to meeting and working with you.

Read more about my areas of practice: http://www.dmsalisburylaw.com/ Check out my reviews on Avvo: http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/34237-fl-debra-salisbury-1283092.html