My Son/Daughter Was In A Fight, Can We Be Sued?
Parents can be held liable if a child, son or daughter, is involved in a physical confrontation and injury occurs. Assault is a crime. It is punishable with jail time, fines, community service, or probation. While the charge can go on the child’s record, the parents may be liable for monetary damages either in a criminal prosecution or civil case.
Monetary damages can be awarded for payment of medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering. Physical assault is defined as intentionally applying force to a person, such as hitting or shoving, or attempting to apply force, even if no contact is made. If injury from a physical assault is severe, there could be both criminal and civil prosecution.
A Parent’s Responsibilities
“Practically every state has a contributing to the delinquency of a child or child corruption law.” If the parent teaches or allows his or her child to engage in illegal behavior, the parent can be held criminally liable. For example, the state of Maryland may force parents to pay up to $10,000 in restitution if their child is found guilty of a crime. In other states, parents may be responsible for paying the state for the cost of caring for their children while in jail or juvenile detention.
Assaults are handled as tort cases. “A tort is an action or omission that results in injury to another person.” Assault can fall into the category of intentional tort, when an individual has no legal cause to harm another, but does so anyway. States differ on the Age of Majority – the age when parents are no longer liable to the actions of their children. For most states, this is the age of 18 for civil matters and 17 for criminal.
Exceptions differ in civil cases in American Samoa and Puerto Rico, where the Age of Majority is 14; Nebraska and Alabama, where the age is 19; and Mississippi and Washington D.C., where the age is 21. In most states, parents can be held responsible for the actions of a minor who is at least 10. However, if a child has been emancipated or legally freed from the authority of his or her parents, the parents can no longer be held accountable for illegal actions.
The Breadth of Consequences
There are different scopes in which parents are liable for an assault caused by their children. If there was a physical altercation where a child caused injury to another, the victim has to prove parental negligence was involved. The two scopes of responsibility are:
- • Reasonable, which means “the parent could or should have known their child had a tendency to act in a dangerous manner. Other parents in a similar position would have known about the danger.”
- • Foreseeable, which means “the parent could, or should have been able to see that their child was capable of causing injury. Other parents in a similar position would have seen the possibility of injury.”
If a parent is faced with a situation where his or her child may be responsible for the assault of another, he or she should consult with an attorney. These cases can be prevented. Lines of communication must be kept open, and the child must know bad decisions can cause trouble.