Local father arrested after allegedly refusing to let doctors treat daughter with life-threatening infection
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IDAHO FALLS — A 34-year-old Shelley man was arrested after police say he refused to allow doctors at a local hospital to treat his daughter while she was reportedly dying of sepsis.
Joshua Bailey is charged with felony injury to a child.
According to court documents, a Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy was called to Idaho Falls Community Hospital on Sept. 23, for a report of a “potential disgruntled parent.”
When the deputy arrived, they were told that a man identified as Bailey had brought his 10-year-old daughter into the hospital for health complications.
Court records say the girl has cerebral palsy and two feeding tubes.
Doctors said the girl had a serious bacterial infection that was potentially septic and life-threatening, and that Bailey would not allow them to run tests to determine the root of the issue.
The deputy was also told that they wanted to test the feeding tubes to see if they were infected, which could be causing the bacterial infection.
The deputy spoke with one of the doctors, who stated that they had been trying to talk to Bailey about the potential dangers of not treating his daughter. The doctor stated that they believed the girl had gone septic due to an “elevated heart rate and depleted oxygen supply that was causing choking spells.”
Bailey reportedly told doctors that “the hospital machines were causing these issues and she did not need any help.”
Doctors say they told Bailey that this did not make sense medically, and if she “did not get treatment soon, her odds of dying went up significantly every hour.”
According to the deputy, doctors stated that this was an ongoing issue with Bailey.
One of the girl’s main doctors told the deputy that he did not believe there was enough time to file a warrant for imminent danger, and that they needed to “take action immediately” in order to save the girl’s life.
According to the doctor, for every hour spent not treating the girl, her odds of dying increased by 10%.
The deputy then contacted a sergeant, who agreed to complete an imminent danger form. They then contacted the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office, which agreed that submitting the form was the best option.
Bailey was soon served with the imminent danger form, and deputies explained that “due to the (doctor’s) opinion that (his daughter) needs medical care now or she will die, (law enforcement is) enforcing imminent danger and he did not have the ability to refuse care anymore,” according to court documents.
Child Protective Services were called and assisted with the remaining process. Court documents do not include what happened after the form was served to Bailey or the girl’s current status.
“With his decision to refuse care for his daughter, he was placing her life in imminent danger,” writes the deputy in the report.
A warrant for Bailey’s arrest was issued on Dec. 10. He was not arrested until June and posted a $25,000 bond to be released on Sunday. It is not clear why there was so much time between the issuance of the warrant and Bailey’s arrest.
He is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on July 1. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Bailey’s attorney, Jeromy Pharis, for comment, but we have not heard back. If we receive a statement, we will update this article.
Though Bailey has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.