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Under CT law, is a parent liable for property damage caused by minor child

Asked over 3 years ago - Stamford, CT

My 12 yr old was at a friend's house. The friend said it was ok to climb on the parent's car. While both girls were sitting on the car, the girl told my daughter "let's go on the roof". My daughter sat on and cracked the sunroof. Since both girls were on the car, their girl said it was ok and the parents were not supervising, I offered to pay half their insurance deductible. They want me to total repair bill. I say it was a mistake made by a CHILD. What should I do?

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Neyah Kane Bennett

Reputation Level 8

Answered over 3 years ago. Lawsuit / Dispute Attorney in Glastonbury, CT.

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Offering half of the deductible was probably a fair offer. In CT, parents are not automatically responsible for the negligence of their children by common law. There are circumstances where parents can be responsible. An example might be if you knew that your daughter had a habit of kicking in car sunroofs, etc and you knew she was going out to do just that on the day in question, and you did nothing to stop it. Another example, might be if your daughter intentionally or maliciously destroyed personal property. There is a statute you can look at that makes parents jointly responsible with their kids. (Connecticut General Statute 52-572). In this circumstance, it looks like an innocent mistake so these examples would not apply. The parents could bring a claim against your daughter for negligence, but she will be held to the standard of an average 12 year old. 12 year olds do stuff like that. At least, I did anyway. Also,it looks like the parents might be negligent themselves and/or their own daughter probably equally at fault.

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