Howe’s Brooklyn: Debate continues: Are parents acountable for injuries caused by their children?
Walking down a Manhattan sidewalk in October 2009, Apri Koulajian was struck from behind by a wheeled suitcase and fell to the ground. Unsure of exactly who struck her, Koulajian regained her bearings and noticed a 2-year old child, the child’s parent and the suitcase. Because she was unsure of exactly who was holding the suitcase at the time, Koulajian filed a lawsuit against the child and a claim of negligent supervision against the child’s parents.
Late last week, the Appellate Division, First Department, dismissed Koulajian’s claims against the child and parents.
In New York, parents may be found liable for the actions of their children if and when it is found that the child caused harm to another while using or operating a dangerous instrument. The appellate court found that Koulajian was unable to definitively prove who was handling the suitcase and did not have a case for negligent supervision.
Two justices disagreed. The question of parental negligent supervision hinges on whether a child was operating a dangerous instrument at the time of the accident. In this case, the question is whether or not a wheeled suitcase is a dangerous instrument. While the majority of the court said no, Justices David Saxe and Peter Tom argued, “However innocuous a wheeled suitcase might seem generally when handled by adults- when it is the same size as the two-year-old child wielding it, the potential hazards it could create may warrant imposing on the parent supervising the child a greater degree of care and supervision, to ensure that the object does not unwittingly turn into a hazardous object that may foreseeably cause harm to nearby pedestrians. Such an object, in the hands of a possibly heedless two-year-old wielding it without parental oversight on a Manhattan sidewalk, could turn into a hazard, creating ‘an unreasonable risk of harm to others.”