• 03
  • November
    2010

A judge ruled last week that a child over the age of 4 can be sued for negligence. This ruling stemmed from an accident that happened in 2009. A young girl was riding her bike with a friend when they crashed into an elderly woman who had been walking by them. She suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident.

A lawsuit was filed against the children that claimed they had been acting negligently by racing their bikes down the sidewalk. The suit also sued the mothers who had been nearby when the accident occurred for being negligent in preventing the incident. In response, the attorney for the young girl argued that she was not old enough to be held liable for negligence.

Many people may agree that the 4-year-old girl had merely been riding her bike and lacked the capability to understand that her actions were negligent. She even had training wheels on her bike. Her attorney argued that because she was 4-years-old, she was not capable of negligence.

While previous courts have held that to be true, the judge in this case decided otherwise. He agreed that children under the age of four are incapable of negligence. However, the young girl was four at the time of the accident, and therefore did not fit in the category of "under the age of four." The little girl seemed to understand the consequences of her actions as would other children of her age and mindset.

The judge also concluded that the girl could not escape liability merely because her mother was present. He reasoned that a reasonably prudent child understands dangerous behavior. Had the mother encouraged the young girl to ride her bike carelessly down the sidewalk then she would assume liability for her daughter's actions.

Source: New York Times online, "4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case," Alan Feuer, 28 October 2010