In the Matter of ST, FH# 2017-1372

Reversed - DCF did not have a reasonable cause to support a finding of abuse or neglect because a 1-month-old child, while briefly unattended, fell from a counter in an unfortunate incident after his father bathed him. The child sustained a subarachnoid hematoma, intraventricular hematoma, and a subdural hematoma. This led the child abuse specialist at the hospital to raise the concern of child abuse. However, the specialist could not conclusively say that the child's injuries were the result of abuse rather than an accident. The neglect finding was also reversed because there was no evidence that Appellant, either deliberately or through negligence, failed to provide the child with minimally adequate care when he left the wet child on the counter while he knelt down to get a towel. Inconsistencies in the time frame of the incident were not indicative of neglect by Appellant because it is conceivable that his recollection of events in the early morning hours after a traumatic incident may not have been accurate.