Q: Can I be sued for negligence on behalf of my child?
My 10 year old son waa riding his bike on the sidewalk and accidentally bumped into a woman. The woman fell and scraped her elbow. My son got scared and left his bike and ran home. A few minutes later, I arrived at the scene and the woman's husband immediately began threatening to sue me. The woman appeared fine and was standing next to him. The ambulance arrived and they asked if she was okay. The woman showed the bruise on the elbow and the husband insisted that she hit her head. A few hours later, the police arrived. They wrote a report and didn't take it too seriously. The woman's husband kept making threats of suing and claiming that this was a hit and run. Can I legally be sued and held liable? Will I need to pay the woman's medical bills even if she was fine and only had a scrape on her elbow? Thank you.
A: In theory you can be sued. Anyone can sue anyone. If you are, send it to your insurance company. If you have no insurance, you will likely not be sued.
A:
The other side could decide to sue; no one has control over that. If she accepted the ambulance ride and received more comprehensive evaluation at the emergency room, it's possible she could sue. If she declined the ambulance ride and her injuries were limited to an elbow bruise, she might not want to go through the process of bringing a suit. But no one can predict an outcome because it depends on what the other side chooses to do, based on what their injuries pan out to be. I hope everyone is okay and that there will be no need for a lawsuit. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
A:
Addendum - In terms of leaving the scene of the accident, I do not think that a ten-year old child would be treated with the same culpability of an adult in leaving the scene of an accident, and additionally, you showed good faith and concern in arriving on the scene to investigate the matter. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
A: Call your homeowners insurance company. Tell them what happened and ask if this would be covered under your policy.
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