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Elliot’s Broken Wrist and ER Visit (Winter 2019)

Elliot’s broken wrist and emergency-room visit occurred in winter 2019, when twenty-year-old Sean Landry deliberately broke the left wrist of his sixteen-year-old half-brother, Elliot Landry. The injury led hospital staff to recognize the abuse, support Elliot’s disclosure, and file formal reports.

The Assault

During an argument at Sean’s apartment, Sean grabbed Elliot’s left wrist and twisted it while demanding that Elliot scream and call himself nothing. Elliot remained silent. Sean continued until the wrist broke.

Sean immediately panicked and blamed Elliot, asking, “Why didn’t you stop me?” Elliot tried to stand while cradling his wrist and fighting the urge to vomit. Sean drove him to St. James Hospital, completed the intake paperwork, and left before staff could question him.

Emergency Assessment

Emergency nurse Carleen assessed Elliot after he initially said that he had fallen. Although Elliot stood approximately six feet three inches tall, he was a frightened sixteen-year-old in severe pain. He vomited when Carleen examined the wrist, and she recognized that the injury and his behavior did not fit an accidental fall. When Carleen realized that Sean had disappeared, she contacted hospital social work and remained with Elliot through imaging.

Elliot asked for his mother and apologized repeatedly for disrupting her work shift. J&R Foods, where Jazmine worked in produce, was contacted during the emergency response. Store manager Lucille found Jazmine and enabled her to leave immediately. Jazmine arrived at the hospital still wearing her produce-stained apron.

Imaging confirmed a fracture of Elliot’s left distal radius. Staff treated his pain, supported the injured wrist, and adjusted their communication after learning that Elliot was autistic and had greater support needs under stress.

Disclosure and Reporting

When Jazmine reached Elliot, he again claimed that he had fallen. She held his face, asked him to look at her, and told him, “Elliot James Landry, don’t you lie to your mama.” She reassured him that her anger was not directed at him and that he did not need to protect Sean.

Hospital social worker Deja Brooks came to the bay for the mandated abuse assessment. Elliot panicked when Deja initially requested a private interview. Jazmine explained that separation during acute pain and distress would make him more likely to mask, agree, or shut down. Deja adjusted the interview, allowed Jazmine to remain, sat farther back, and lowered her clipboard.

Jazmine told Elliot that if she stayed, he needed to tell the whole truth so that decisions would not be made without his voice. Elliot repeated that he deserved to have a voice, then disclosed that Sean had twisted his wrist until it broke.

Elliot also explained that Sean had demanded that he scream and call himself nothing. He blamed himself for remaining silent and believed that submitting might have stopped the assault sooner. Jazmine and Deja told him that nothing he said or did caused Sean’s violence.

Deja documented Elliot’s disclosure and filed formal reports with law enforcement and Child Protective Services. She gave Jazmine her direct telephone number. When Jazmine asked whether Elliot would be allowed to fall through the system again, Deja answered, “Not this time.”

Charges were filed against Sean, but he received probation.

Jazmine stayed with Elliot through the night. The intervention followed years of unsuccessful reports beginning when Sean pushed six-year-old Elliot from a trampoline and claimed that they had only been playing.

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