Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

my son scratched a car by accident

my 6year old son recently scratched a car with his bike handle bar by mistake in a club parking lot and the man called the police and said we have to pay for the damages which would have been fine, but the parking lot was for patron parking only and the man was at a near by residence not the club should we still have to pay for the damages?


Asked on 5/04/09, 12:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Roger Traversa Arjont Group (Law Office of Roger Traversa)

Re: my son scratched a car by accident

You asked about paying for the damage to a car from a child's accident.

Oddly, this area of law is still unsettled. Parents can sometimes be held liable for the damage a child causes and other times they can't be.

Because of the age of the child and the limited damage then it would be unlikely that the child or parent can be held responsible.

But, it would be the proper thing to offer to pay a reasonable fee to have the scratch fixed based on the severity of the damage, and the age and otherwise general appearance of the car.

The reasoning you stated is not, not authorized to use lot, is not a valid argument to refute liability.

Regards,

Roger

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Answered on 5/06/09, 1:56 pm


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