If my son was injured due to horseplay, are the other kid's parents liable?
Question Details:
My son and another kid were messing around and the other kid accidentally pushed my son's face into a window sill at school. Both of his front teeth were chipped and require crowns at about $2000. I need to know if the other parents are liable for the cost of the repairs.
If the horseplay was mutual--that is, it wasn't the other boy shoving or pushing your child when he was trying to get away, for example--then it is very unlikely you could recover compensation. For there to be compensation, there must be fault; fault in a case like this is judged by a standard of negligence, or unreasonable carelessness; what is "unreasonable" is judged by the standard of the age of the participants. Simply put, boys horse around; when they do, one may accidentally get hurt. If the other boy did not deliberately push your son's face into a window sill with an intention to cause injury, it is unlikely that it will be found that he was negligent, or unreasonably careless, by indulging in horseplay with your son.


Are you a lawyer?