Can I be held responsible for my children’s negligent actions?

“Will my child’s torts make me liable?”

Tort comes from the Latin word “tortus” which means “wrong”.  A tort is defined as a private or civil wrong or injury resulting from a breach of a legal duty that exists by virtue of society’s expectations regarding interpersonal conduct, rather than by contract or other personal relationship.  In other words, tort law imposes a duty on every person to behave as carefully as a reasonable, ordinary, prudent person would behave in a similar situation.  This is known as the reasonable person standard.

Common law states that a defendant’s actions must fall short of the reasonable person standard in order for the defendant to be found negligent. Children on the other hand, are typically held to a lower standard than adults.

Under Family Code § 41.001, a parent or other person who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of a child is liable for any property damage proximately caused by: (1)  the negligent conduct of the child if the conduct is reasonably attributable to the negligent failure of the parent or other person to exercise that duty; or (2)  the willful and malicious conduct of a child who is at least 10 years of age but under 18 years of age.

However, the mere fact of parenthood does not make a parent liable for the torts of the child.  There’s no legally acknowledged presumption that holds the parent responsible for a tort committed by the child, unless it is shown that the parent is in some way implicated.

A parent is liable for the torts of his or her minor child only when the child’s wrongful act is committed under the parent’s direction, express or implied.

In Villacana v. Campbell, 929 S.W.2d 69 (Tex. App. Corpus Christi 1996), the Villacana’s brought action against the Campbell’s. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals ruled that the Campbell’s had no duty to control the conduct of an adult child, even though he was living at home, where no act or omission on his parents’ part was a proximate cause of the murders the child committed, the parents did not own the weapon used in the murders, denied storing it in their home, and stated that their son had not previously displayed a violent temper or shot at anyone.

In some situations, a child (10 years of age but under 18) who engaged in a willful and malicious conduct and caused damages, may expose the parents to liability for actual damages, not to exceed $25,000 per occurrence, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. Family Code § 41.002

In the end, it’s always best to hire a Texas personal injury attorney who is experienced and skilled in handling these types of cases to evaluate your situaiton.