Q: Can I sue the parents of someone who gave my son heroin causing his death?
My son died in 2010 from a heroin OD. He was given heroin and shot up by "friends". They called 911 4 hour after he had passed because they could not find a place to dump him. The persons home was his parents place and he had recently been left out of jail on probation. His parents were in Florida at the time. We live in Pa. The case will be going to court soon
A: I am not sure I understand this question because of the addition of the last sentence, which says that "the case will be going to court soon." I am assuming that the case going to court is a criminal case against the "friends." If that is not correct, I don't understand the question. Based on that assumption concerning the other case, the first problem is that, if your son died in 2010, you would face a statute of limitations issue with the filing of a new suit. Secondly, under Pennsylvania law, parents are generally not responsible for the bad actions (torts) of their children. You would basically have to show that they knew about the conduct and participated in it. The mere fact that similar conduct had occurred before or that this happened at their property is not enough. Further, if the "friend" was over the age of 18, his parents could not possibly be held accountable in the absence of their direct actions.
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