Hawaii’s Parental Responsibility Statutes

Understanding the possible culpability of a parent or legal guardian in Hawaii for a minor’s “willful misbehavior” or carelessness.

Hawaii, like the majority of states, has enacted a series of “parental responsibility statutes” that may be used to hold parents and guardians civilly accountable for damages caused by their illegitimate offspring. These rules may apply to a minor’s willful, reckless, or negligent behavior, depending on the state. A parent or guardian may be held liable for property damage (including the consequences of vandalism), personal injuries, and theft-related losses.

In this post, we’ll go over some of the most important aspects of Hawaii’s numerous parental responsibility laws.

What are the Parental Responsibility Laws in Hawaii?

Hawaii has enacted three unique legislation dealing with parental accountability for their children’s behavior. These statutes govern general tort responsibility, vehicle damage, and property damage:

Section 577-3 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes covers general tort responsibility, Section 286-112 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes covers driving, and Section 577-3.5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes covers property damage.

Under Hawaii law, how old must the child be?

Parental responsibility rules only make parents and legal guardians responsible for certain minor children’s behavior. Because Hawaii, like other states, has an age of majority of 18, the rules outlined below only apply to children under the age of 18.

Parental Responsibility in Hawaii for a Child’s Torts

Section 577-3 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes holds parents liable for the behavior of their underage children. Parents of unmarried minor children, in particular, are jointly and severally responsible for tortious conduct committed by their offspring. “Jointly and severally responsible” denotes that the parent/guardian and the minor kid are jointly and severally accountable for any losses incurred. In other words, the injured party may seek compensation from any or all of the liable parties.

This is a fairly broad statute. It effectively holds parents and legal guardians “strictly accountable” for any kind of disaster caused by their underage kid, including vehicle accidents, slip and fall occurrences, and other typical mishaps.

In Hawaii, parents are responsible for their children’s driving.

A minor’s application for an instruction permit, provisional license, or driver’s license must be signed by one of the following people, according to Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 286-112.

Both the father and mother (if both have custody), the custodial parent (if only one parent has custody), the custodial guardian (if neither parent has custody), or the minor’s employer or any responsible individual ready to accept responsibility (if neither a parent, nor guardian, has custody).

Any carelessness or misbehavior committed by the juvenile while operating a vehicle will be attributed to the person who signed the child’s application. The individual becomes jointly and severally accountable for any damages caused by the minor’s wrongdoing. Again, Hawaii law is rather broad in this area, and it may have substantial financial consequences for parents whose kid causes a catastrophic vehicle accident.

In Hawaii, parental responsibility for a child’s graffiti exists.

When it comes to graffiti, Hawaii’s parental responsibility rules are likewise rather stringent. In Hawaii, parents or guardians are jointly and severally liable for graffiti damage made by their underage children.

Graffiti is defined as “any illegal painting, inscription, figure, or marking formed by paint, ink, chalk, dye, or similar material,” according to Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 577-3.5. If a juvenile is discovered to be the perpetrator of graffiti in Hawaii, the minor, parents, or guardians must remove the graffiti from the damaged property within 60 days, or pay the expense of having the property fixed or replaced. Furthermore, the youngster must undertake at least 80 hours of community work to erase graffiti on other people’s properties.

In Hawaii, parents and guardians may still be held liable under common law.

Even though Hawaii’s parental responsibility rules are comprehensive, parents and guardians may be held liable for their minor’s behavior even if these laws do not apply. A parent who knows their kid has a proclivity to behave recklessly or carelessly may be required to take reasonable precautions to prevent the child from causing foreseeable injury to others.

Assume a parent is aware that their kid has a habit of purchasing pyrotechnics and igniting them without regard for the safety of others. If a parent permits this kind of conduct to continue and the kid injures someone, the parent may be judged negligent.