Following a ruling by the Bronx County Family Court that a mother had neglected her child due to the alleged use of inappropriate and excessive physical discipline, an appeal was filed.
Upon its review, the Appellate Division, First Department, noted that the child's account of events, as relayed to the police and medical professionals, described the mother repeatedly 'hitting, punching, dragging, pulling, and throwing the child to the ground' after the child refused to give her a hug. While repetition alone isn’t sufficient for corroboration, the child's consistent narrative to different individuals bolstered the reliability of the statements, which were further supported by additional evidence.
Notably, the aunt's statement, as recorded in the hospital records, reinforced the child's account – with those documents being admissible under the medical diagnosis and treatment exception to hearsay, as they pertained to the child's treatment, diagnosis, and discharge. Furthermore, the physical injuries sustained by the child, which required medical attention and the use of an arm sling, also served as tangible evidence.
In contrast, the mother's claim that the child was the aggressor failed to account for her daughter’s injuries, nor was a plausible alternative explanation provided for the harm the youngster suffered.
While the Family Court's determination of neglect was based on a single incident of excessive corporal punishment, neglect is statutorily defined as the failure of a parent or guardian to provide proper care or supervision, including the use of excessive corporal punishment. Although parents have a common-law right to discipline their children, the acts in this case —hitting, punching, dragging, and throwing the child — were deemed inappropriate and thus constituted neglect.
Given the foregoing record, the AD1 left the underlying outcome undisturbed.
That must have hit the mother good.
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DECISION