PARENTAL LIABILITY

Parents are not generally liable for the negligence of their children. Parents do have a duty to use reasonable care to control their children when they know, or should know, of the necessity to exercise control and if they have the ability and the opportunity to exercise such control at the time it is needed. In several recent cases, Pennsylvania courts have examined parents' liability to people injured by children's use of pellet or air guns.

Air guns, considered by some parents to be suitable for children's use, fire pellets that can cause serious injuries. Where parents share custody, the parent with physical custody of the child can be held legally liable when the child injures a person with an air gun. If, however, the non-custodial parent has provided the child with an air gun without adequately communicating with the other parent about the need for supervision, the non-custodial parent may be liable even for incidents that occur during the other parent's custodial time. Where both parents reside together, both can be held liable if they do not carefully supervise the child when the gun is used.

Whatever the custodial arrangement, parents are never automatically held liable for a child's negligence. Parental liability can only flow from a parent's failure to supervise when the parent had reason to know supervision was clearly necessary. In the cases involving air guns, the courts' extension of liability to parents is based on a finding that reasonable, prudent parents realize that injuries can easily result from a child's unsupervised use of a dangerous weapon.

Parents can also be liable for the negligent driving of their children. A parent is held liable if he or she "negligently entrusts" a car to the child. Negligent entrustment of a car occurs when the parent has some actual knowledge that the child is intoxicated or otherwise incapable of safe driving and, despite that knowledge, gives the child permission to drive. "Generalized misgivings" about a child's driving habits are not sufficient to shift liability to a parent. A parent is only liable for ignoring or disregarding specific knowledge of facts relating to the child's inability to drive on the occasion in question. Minors are independently legally responsible for their own driving. Their parents can be sued only if some specific parental negligence can be identified.

Minors can be sued directly for negligent conduct of any kind. When minors are sued, their parents have some financial responsibility to contribute toward any damages awarded. When damages are awarded to a person injured by a child, the child's custodial parents are responsible in each incident for a maximum of $1,000 for each injured person or $2,500 total per incident. Any damages awarded against a minor over these amounts cannot be collected from the child's parents. Despite these limitations of law, it is wise to make sure that your automobile and home insurance policies properly identify the children in your custody. Most of the incidents that lead to litigation against minors can be covered by a well-planned policy. Whenever children are permitted to engage in dangerous activities, parental supervision is a must.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

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