Baby Ebony was left dead in her cot for a week before her parents alerted authorities.

A coroner has lambasted authorities for failing a four-month-old baby who died from horrific injuries at her father’s hands in 2011.

Baby Ebony was left dead in her cot in Adelaide for a week after she died before her parents alerted Families South Australia.

She had over 50 injuries, including 48 healing fractures and other recent injuries when she was found.

South Australian deputy coroner Anthony Schapel said the death of Ebony, who was ‘serially brutalised’ by her father, was ‘preventable’ and authorities failed to take action when she was hospitalised with a broken femur aged only five weeks.

That injury should have resulted in her being taken off her parents, 9 News reported him as saying.

‘In my view, the evidence demonstrates that the investigation was a truncated and ill-informed affair that lacked proper cohesion, and which wholly failed to protect Ebony.’

He said it was ‘absurd’ for Families SA to think the baby girl was not at risk from her father, who was 17 at the time.

Ebony also received multiple bone fractures to her torso and limbs before dying from blunt force trauma, 9 News reported.

Both of her parents had histories of child abuse that were not taken into account, he said.

Families SA and SA Police failed to investigate Ebony’s father properly, who has been jailed after pleading guilty to criminal neglect even after he admitted to causing Ebony to break her leg while under the influence of drugs, according to Mr Schapel.

Her mother had been under the guardianship of the New South Wales government – where both parents were from, the ABC reported.

Mr Schapel also called for a national child protection database to be be established to prevent further deaths at the hands of violent and neglectful parents.

He made his recommendation on Thursday at the conclusion of an inquest into the death of baby Ebony.

The database would ensure immediate access to interstate records, the ABC reported.

Another recommendation was an alert to be sent out when contact with a child’s parents was lost.