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SEVERE ABUSE FINDING SUPPORTED BY FATHER’S FAILURE TO SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL CARE FOR THE SERIOUSLY INJURED CHILD (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, over a dissent, determined the evidence supported the severe abuse finding against father on the ground father delayed in seeking medical attention for the child’s severe injuries:

Family Court’s finding of severe abuse was based on two incidents in which the father found the older child at the bottom of the basement stairs in the morning. After the first incident, the older child sustained back and leg injuries, torso abrasions and facial bruising that was so severe that she could not open her eyes all the way. After the second incident, the child had two lacerations across the front of her neck that required significant medical attention. * * *

A finding of severe abuse requires clear and convincing evidence that a child was found to be abused “as a result of reckless or intentional acts of the parent committed under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, which result in serious physical injury to the child as defined in [Penal Law § 10.00 (10)]” (Social Services Law § 384-b [8] [a] [i]; see Family Ct Act §§ 1046 [b] [ii]; 1051 [e]). Here, the older child suffered severe injuries, including cuts to her throat that required a significant amount of medical attention and serious bruising. The act of cutting the older child’s throat twice demonstrates that the actor did so because he or she simply did not care whether grievous harm would result to the older child. Even assuming, arguendo, that the evidence did not establish that the father was the one who inflicted those injuries, we conclude that the evidence demonstrates that he was in the home when the older child sustained her serious physical injuries and that he offered no compelling explanation for what caused them or why he failed to seek immediate medical help for her after discovering those injuries … .

We disagree with the dissent’s view that petitioner was required to present evidence that the father’s delay in seeking medical treatment exacerbated the older child’s injuries or complicated the older child’s medical treatment. Matter of Mya N. (Reginald N.–Sadie H.), 2020 NY Slip Op 04266, Fourth Dept 7-24-20

 

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