The question of legal
parental responsibility for the actions of their minor children has been
very much in the news recently, perhaps most notoriously when two teens were
accused of bullying another child so mercilessly that she jumped to her death
at just 12 years old. The local sheriff in the place arrested the girls and
indicated that he wished there was a way to charge their parents as well.
What to Know
Though criminal charges were not
available in this situation, it is important to understand, particularly if you
or your child has been injured by the actions of another child or if your child
has been the cause of injury to somebody else, that there are some instances
where parents can be held responsible for the actions of their children, and
others where they cannot.
The rule of thumb in almost every
state across the United States is that both the young adult who has caused the
harm can be held responsible, and so can their parents if the child’s actions
have been intentional and negligent. However, the parents’ level of
responsibility often depends upon how much they knew about and took action when
their child’s actions were dangerous or likely to cause harm.
Importantly, if a parent is aware
of a child’s behavior and chooses not to exercise appropriate parental
intervention then they can be held entirely responsible, but in many of these
cases the negligence is actually on the parents’ part, even if it is their
child who physically caused the harm. For example, if a child causes physical
injury to another child while playing sports, and it is determined that the
child who caused the harm was unsupervised by their parent, was not being
appropriately supervised, or as is being seen in more and more cases was
encouraged by the parent to cause the harm, then it is the parent that is held
responsible.
One More Thing
Another important point to
consider is the laws regarding the consumption of alcohol by underaged
drinkers. Teens are notorious for having parties in the basements of
unsuspecting parents, and in cases where adults are unaware of the revelry the
court will ask whether the parents should have suspected the activity. In cases
where the parents thought they were being cool, or even responsible, by
providing safe harbor for the drinking activities -whether they actually
provided the liquor or not – they can be held responsible both criminally and
civilly.
Maybe Move To Pennsylvania With Teenagers?
One other thing to consider … in
the state of Pennsylvania, the parental liability is financially limited to
just $1,000 in liability per incident and $2,500 aggregate, regardless of
whether the issue involves an auto accident, property damage or personal
injury. That being the case, in situations where a minor has been
involved and is responsible for a personal injury, the best bet for seeking
damages is to find another responsible party, for example the school that is
tasked with providing a safe environment in a bullying situation.
