It is natural to assume that children who are raised and supervised properly do not typically injure other people. Under California Civil Code Section 1714.1, parents or guardians may be held civilly liable for any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in injury or death to another person.

Still, while the language seems clear on its surface, this statute is neither straightforward nor absolute. Each Los Angeles injury attorney at our firm who has assisted clients who were willfully injured by children understands the need for compelling evidence in these cases.

California Parental Liability is Not Guaranteed

Perhaps the controlling part of the cited statute is "may be held civilly liable" because parental liability extends well beyond just the language within a single statute. Another statute (1714.3) imposes joint and several liability on parents and guardians when children under their control cause damage or injury with firearms. Another law says that judges and juries can dismiss liability even when parents or guardians have some knowledge of issues with the children under their control. Note the following examples:

• Guardians may recognize that they have relatively minimal control of a child's overall lack of control, but there is no history of dangerous willful actions. Those guardians may not be held liable if a child under their control gets underfoot, tripping and injuring a shopper for the first time.
• A parent who can prove no prior knowledge of a child's use of alcohol might not be judged as civilly liable if that child causes injury to others, even in an underage DUI-related auto accident.

It is also important to understand that California law also places a cap on the value of any given claim. Although the value of the cap can change every two years based on the California cost of living figures, the current cap is typically (but not always) $25,000 for a single injury.

Evidence is Key to Establishing Parental Civil Liability

In any civil liability case, the burden of proof falls to the injured party (the plaintiff). In many cases, establishing proof of parental liability essentially requires plaintiffs to provide evidence of information inside the parent's head. On the surface, developing evidence that meets this requirement seems impossible.

Experienced injury lawyers have the skills and resources to dig beyond the surface facts to uncover evidence of prior knowledge. They may find neighbors who can cite specific prior instances of a child's willful misconduct that were known by the parent or guardian. Public records might even show an example of the first time a child performed an act that was similar to the one currently in question.

The first step toward potentially holding parents accountable for the acts of their children is to call The Rudman Law Firm APC at (844) 478-3626 / (844) 4RUDMAN, at our Los Angeles office at (213) 375-3777 or at our Studio City office (818) 769-6969.