Personal Injury and Parental Responsibility Laws

Learn about state laws that make a parent legally accountable for their children’s purposeful and careless actions.

Many individuals are unaware that parents might be held legally accountable for their underage children’s actions. Though the details vary, practically every state has adopted some kind of this legislation, which typically relates to deliberate actions done by children. Parents may even be held accountable in certain places for accidents caused by their children. (Learn the fundamentals of Child Accidents and Injuries.)

What exactly are Parental Responsibility Statutes?

For more than a century, parental responsibility laws have been a cornerstone of our legal system. Hawaii was the first state to establish a legislation of this sort in 1846, and its version of the law remains one of the most comprehensive in its application to this day. In most jurisdictions, parental liability extends to both criminal and civil crimes committed by a child.

While it may seem unreasonable to hold a parent liable for a child’s actions, state legislators have concluded that an innocent victim should not face the financial burden of property damage or medical bills caused by the conduct of another.

The logic behind such laws is that parents have a legal responsibility to take reasonable precautions to monitor their young children, and if they fail to do so and the kid causes injury to another person or property, the parent is legally (typically financially) accountable.

What is the minimum age for the child?

A minor is defined as anybody who has not achieved the age of majority. The age at which a child legally becomes an adult varies by state, however in the majority of states, that age is 18. Most states with parental responsibility laws have established the rule that parents may be held liable for their kid’s actions only until the child reaches the age of 18. In specific circumstances, at least one state has increased parental responsibility to encompass minors as young as 21 years old.

Parental Responsibility Laws Examples

As previously said, state rules concerning parental responsibility vary greatly, but here is a tiny sampling:

Parents in California may be held accountable for a child’s “willful misbehavior causing injury, death, or property damage” if the minor is under the age of 18. Parents may also be held accountable for damages originating from a child’s careless actions while driving with their consent. The parents may be held liable for another person’s medical bills up to a maximum of $25,000. A similar restriction applies to property damage.

Parents in Illinois may be held liable for their child’s deliberate or malicious property destruction or activities causing physical harm. Parents are also held accountable if their kid causes damage to a religious building such as a church, synagogue, mosque, or cemetery. A parent may be held accountable for $20,000 in any one event.

Parents in Louisiana are accountable for any harm caused by their children. A parent’s financial exposure is unbounded.

Maine: Parents are only responsible if their kid causes deliberate or malicious harm to another person or property. Regardless of the amount of actual loss, a parent’s financial exposure is restricted at $800.

New Jersey: Parents may be held accountable for their child’s actions, but only if they cause damage to railways, public utilities, or school property. In such cases, a parent’s financial obligation is limited to $5,000.

Parental Liability for a Minor’s Driving Behavior

A number of jurisdictions have enacted parental responsibility laws that hold a parent accountable for any injuries or vehicle damage caused by a small kid in an automobile accident. However, several jurisdictions have particular legislation that further define a parent’s or other adult’s legal obligation in such scenario. These statutes are sometimes referred to as “sponsorship laws.”

Anyone under the age of 18 in several states must have a “sponsor” in order to receive a driver’s license. The sponsor is usually a parent, although it might also be a boss or another adult. If a kid is careless or acts in deliberate misbehavior while driving a vehicle, all damages arising from the behavior might be attributed to the adult sponsor. This is valid even if the sponsor had no direct control over the minor or ownership of the car.