In re E.F. CA5

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

Background On June 19, 2024, department received a referral of possible physical abuse concerning one-month-old A.F., after she was taken to the emergency room at Valley Children’s Hospital (VCH) with a swollen arm. A.F.’s primary care physician had instructed the parents to seek care at the emergency department. A bone survey showed numerous fractures, possibly in different stages of healing. The parents denied anyone else provided care for her and denied any knowledge of how the injuries occurred. Maternal grandmother was supervising parents’ other child, two-year-old E.F. Physician Kalya Barnes described the bone survey as showing “ ‘[m]ultiple healing fractures with associated periosteal reaction, including a left diaphyseal humerus fracture, the right distal radial metadiaphysis, and metaphyseal corner fractures of the bilateral distal radii and ulnae, bilateral distal femurs, bilateral proximal and distal tibiae, bilateral distal fibulae, and right proximal fibula. There is also a suspected healing fracture at the base of the right first metatarsal. Multiple bilateral healing rib fractures are seen, including the left anterior third, fourth,…