Matter of Brandyn P

In Matter of Brandyn P., 278 AD2d 533 (3rd Dep't 2000), the Third Department affirmed the Family Court's dismissal of the abuse petition. Brandyn P. involved a child who suffered a spiral fracture of his right tibia while under the care his father. The father claimed that the child's leg got caught in a couch. An orthopedic surgeon testified during the trial and concluded that the fracture was highly suspicious for potential abuse, but he did acknowledge that if the child's foot was trapped and twisted, it was possible for enough force to be exerted on the leg to cause a spiral fracture. The Family Court found that the petitioner established a prima facie case of abuse but dismissed the petition at the close of all the proof after accepting the respondent's explanation that the child's injury occurred accidentally. In that case, the respondent father as well as five other family members who were present in the home when the child was injured, testified to support that the child sustained an accident. Id.