In 2011, Jennifer Connell attended the birthday party of her eight-year-old nephew Sean Tarala. It was an established fact that the boy caused the incident that resulted in Ms. Connell breaking her wrist. She sued and lost.
While this case garnered a lot of negative press, it does bring up some interesting, and poignant, legal questions.
Imagine your own child, or someone you know, all excited, accidentally hurts someone. Maybe in a too-tight hug or knocks them over in a bout of exuberant play. You might wonder who’s responsible.
Should the child’s parents pay? And where does homeowners’ insurance fit into cases like this?
Here are three scenarios that highlight how these situations are handled and why the law treats them as it does.
Scenario One: An Overenthusiastic Hug
Seven-year-old Ned sees his aunt, runs up, and gives her a big hug. They both fall, and his aunt breaks her leg. Ned didn’t mean to hurt her, but now she’s got medical bills and a leg that won’t ever fully heal. In this case, Ned may have been responsible, but was this act something his parents could have foreseen and stopped? Not likely. It would be one thing if Ned had a history of acting violently or causing injury. Otherwise, it would be fair for a jury to say Ned’s parents aren’t responsible for the aunt’s injuries.
Scenario Two: The Baseball Injury
Jeff, another seven-year-old, is playing baseball in the street. He hits a ball that accidentally strikes little Frankie, causing serious injuries. Jeff’s parents knew he played baseball and that he was good at it. Playing baseball in a narrow street comes with risks. Could Jeff’s parents have predicted this accident? Maybe. They might be held responsible since they had knowledge of Jeff’s baseball skills and the understood the risks involved in playing in the street.
Scenario Three: A Joyride Gone Wrong
Clark, yet another seven-year-old, secretly takes his parents’ car keys and ends up crashing into a neighbor’s house, killing a dog and causing $25,000 in damages. Clark had some driving experience with ATVs and even helped his dad steer the car on dirt roads. His parents probably knew about, and even encouraged, his adventurous streak. Could they have foreseen Clark taking the car? Highly likely. In this scenario, the parents might be more likely to be held responsible.
A Child is Negligent, Now What?
In each of these scenarios a child’s actions caused harm. Usually, the law says someone is at fault and should pay for such incidents. But kids can’t be sued, they lack standing. Also, they don’t have money or insurance to cover damages. That’s where the parents or guardians (and their insurance) would be brought in. If they failed to supervise their kids properly, they could be legally responsible for the child’s negligent acts. The legal term for this is negligent supervision. The extent of a parent’s responsibility often depends on what knowledge they have of their child’s activities and abilities.
If a parent has homeowners’ insurance, it can be used to cover these kinds of damages. Most policies will defend claims where a family member living at home causes injury to someone else. However, insurance policies have exclusions and fine details. For example, it might not cover car crashes or intentional acts. Even if it does cover the incident, there might be language limiting payouts to a smaller cap than the overall amount of the main policy. In all three scenarios, a homeowners’ insurance policy would likely get involved in any claims. But they’ll only pay out if a judge or jury finds the homeowner liable, or if the insurance company decides to settle.
Every case is different. Small details frequently change the outcome of a claim. When a child accidentally causes harm, figuring out who’s responsible can be complex. It involves looking at what the parents knew, what a reasonable person could have done to prevent the accident, and the details of an individual’s insurance policy. While laws and insurance aim to find a fair solution, sometimes, like in Sean’s case, courts might not offer a remedy for those who are injured.