In re Isabella F

In In re Isabella F. (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 128, the mother had struggled with her daughter when she would not get ready for school, inflicting small scratches on the child's face. (Isabella F., at pp. 131-132.) Photographs of the child's injuries showed a "gouge mark" on her earlobe and a "small cut" on her cheekbone, both of which were "consistent with a fingernail injury." (Id. at p. 132.) At the jurisdiction hearing, the mother's counsel argued that the child's injuries did not constitute serious physical harm, but counsel "stopped short of asking the juvenile court to dismiss the petition, apparently based on the mother's desire to receive services." (Id. at p. 135.) The appellate court found that the fingernail scratches on the child's face were not serious injuries for purposes of section 300, subdivision (a) jurisdiction. (Isabella F., at pp. 138-139.) The court also found that the child was not at risk of suffering serious physical harm in the future because the child had reported that the altercation with her mother was an "isolated incident." (Id. at p. 139.)