Who is Legally Liable?
It’s Not Always Who You Think

With the new year beginning to unfurl, you have a lot on your mind—so let me add to the pile. This is a leap year, a summer Olympic year, and a presidential election year. So resolve to leap, cheer and vote. By the time you read this article, you’ve probably broken all of your resolutions anyway, so sit back and enjoy.

Here are some questions to ponder: What did your kids do over the holiday break? Why is Michael Jackson’s doctor going to jail? Should I worry when I babysit my grandchild?

What about the case of your two sons, one who is 20 and home from college, and one who is 16? They go down to your family room, raid the fridge and drink a few of dad’s beers. Meanwhile, you are out at the office Christmas party and know nothing about anything.

Your high-schooler gets a call from some guys saying they are all hanging out at the local pizza place, and he should come down because this girl he likes is there. He gets in the car, drives a couple of blocks, and pulls a ‘Tiger Woods’ by taking out a fire hydrant. When the police arrive and determine him to be under the influence, they ask him where he got the alcohol and his answer is, “At home.”

Who is legally liable? Your high school son? No. Your college student son? No. You? Most likely, yes. Parents of minors are usually liable for the damages caused by their children.

Having alcohol in your house is not a crime. Providing alcohol to your own children who are not 21 is a crime and doing so can make you liable civilly (meaning in the wallet) if something bad happens after that.

You will dole out some punishments and some groundings, but you will also dole out some legal fees and traffic fines, too, along with the possibility of higher insurance premiums and restitution for the damage to the fire hydrant. Enjoy giving an explanation of that to your ‘soon-to-be-ex’ insurance agent. And to the police officer. And to the local district judge. And in this example, nobody got hurt. Add an injury to this example and the whole tone changes.

On another front, Michael Jackson’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail for improperly medicating his patient. What he administered proved to be fatal. Unlike us mere mortals, medical doctors are held to a very high standard because of their education and experience.

It was determined by the court that this doctor had a duty to know all of the health conditions that his patient had, as well as all of the medications (and supplements) that his patient took, and how those medications interacted with each other. He should have prescribed and administered medications according to the highest medical and ethical standards.

His recent conviction in a criminal case illustrates that the judge and jury did not believe that he did so, and he is now going to go to jail. So how does this relate to you? What if you are hosting a play date or a birthday party, or watching your grandchild for the afternoon, and one of the little ones falls or sneezes or throws up? You, in your infinite wisdom as a parent or grandparent, decide to give him a baby aspirin or some cough syrup or even some Pepto-Bismol® because that is what your mother gave you.

Well, what else does the little guy take, either by prescription or by supplement? Do you know? Should you know? Absolutely! What is he allergic to? How would you feel if you gave the little guy something that reacted with something else? Anytime you are putting something within reach of those little mouths or tummies, you are running a risk. How can you cut down on that risk?

In this era of immediate communication, call the parents and ask whether you can give him something. Or have them come and get him if he is sick. The nursery school people get pages of information filled out before they will allow the little ones under their roof, so you should know at least the same, too. And their release forms would make an insurance lobbyist weep with envy.

Christopher M. Abernethy has been practicing law in Hampton Township since 1976. He focuses on elder law, which includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills and probate matters. He also is proficient in all aspects of real estate law and business law. He is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys and the AARP Legal Services Network. He can be reached at 412-486-6624 or by email at cabernethy@aaylaw.com. www.aaylaw.com