{"id":721,"date":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiolinjurylaw.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T08:21:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:21:41","slug":"are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Parents Liable for an Injury Their Child Causes in Florida?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Children make mistakes \u2013 it\u2019s a natural part of growing up, learning, and evolving into adulthood. What happens when a child\u2019s actions lead to another persons' injury? Can a parent be proximally responsible for the actions of their children? In many situations, the answer is yes. To understand the role of a parent in a child\u2019s negligence and when legal guardians may be responsible for damages the child incurs, talk with one of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/tampa-personal-injury-lawyer\/\">personal injury lawyers in Tampa. FL.<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/#Parental_Responsibility_Laws\" >Parental Responsibility Laws<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/#Vandalism_and_Parental_Responsibility\" >Vandalism and Parental Responsibility<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/#Auto_Accidents_and_Parental_Responsibility\" >Auto Accidents and Parental Responsibility<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/#Other_Parental_Responsibilities\" >Other Parental Responsibilities<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Parental_Responsibility_Laws\"><\/span>Parental Responsibility Laws<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nearly every state in the U.S. has a parental responsibility statute on the books, and Florida is no exception. Parental responsibility laws make parents or legal guardians responsible for damages or injuries that their child causes to another. Generally, these laws only extend to intentional or malicious actions actually on the part of the child, but, in some cases, they may extend to accidental conduct, as well.<\/p>\n<p>Florida has specific requirements for parental responsibility. Specifically, the circumstances in which a parent might be responsible for the damages their child causes include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vandalism, as described in Florida Statutes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/Statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;Search_String=&amp;URL=0700-0799\/0741\/Sections\/0741.24.htmlhttp:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/Statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;Search_String=&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0322\/Sections\/0322.09.html\">Section 741.24<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Driving, outlined in Florida Statutes Section <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/Statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;Search_String=&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0322\/Sections\/0322.09.html\">09<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Like many other states, Florida parental responsibility laws apply to any child\u2019s actions under the age of 18. A notable exception occurs when a minor seeks emancipation from his or her parent. In this case, the parents cannot be responsible for the emancipated child\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vandalism_and_Parental_Responsibility\"><\/span>Vandalism and Parental Responsibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Under Florida law section 741.24, a parent might be legally responsible for the damages a child causes when he or she willfully or intentionally destroys or engages in the theft of property. Under the statute, if a child lives with his or her parents, they will be financially responsible for the remediation of the property. However, the damages available are limited to actual damages. In other words, a plaintiff cannot seek emotional or non-economic damages stemming from a minor\u2019s theft or vandalism of property.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Auto_Accidents_and_Parental_Responsibility\"><\/span>Auto Accidents and Parental Responsibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The other main area in which a parent might be responsible for a child\u2019s actions are accidents on the road. Under Florida law, a parent or legal guardian must endorse a child\u2019s application for his or her driver\u2019s license. Florida laws require that a parent assume responsibility for any injuries or property damage that a child\u2019s actions cause while driving. Though many parental responsibility laws apply only to malicious or intentional conduct, in the case of operating a motor vehicle, a parent may also be responsible for any damages caused by negligence. In other words, a parent or legal guardian may be responsible for any property damage or injuries caused by a minor\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Parental_Responsibilities\"><\/span>Other Parental Responsibilities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Unfortunately, these laws don\u2019t always take into account what is fair, and sometimes parents must pay for the actions of their children \u2013 even when they taught them to make better choices.<\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s parental responsibility laws focus on the specific actions of minors; however, this does not mean an injured party can\u2019t hold parents responsible for other damaging conduct by their child. Common law rules exist that can hold parents responsible for any potential damages that a minor might cause. For example, if a child\u2019s malicious or intentional conduct, such as bullying, harms another student, a parent might be financially on the hook for any damages that result.<\/p>\n<p>Generally, when a parent knows a child might have the tendency to act in a malicious or intentional way, then he or she might be responsible for damages. Even if a child does not cause damages specifically outlined by Florida statutes, parents may find themselves responsible for damages. As such, parents must take steps to prevent any conduct that might injure or cause property damage to another person or party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children make mistakes \u2013 it\u2019s a natural part of growing up, learning, and evolving into adulthood. What happens when a child\u2019s actions lead to another persons' injury? Can a parent be proximally responsible for the actions of their children? In many situations, the answer is yes. To understand the role of a parent in a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are Parents Liable for an Injury Their Child Causes in Florida?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn when Florida parents can be held legally responsible for injuries or property damage caused by their minor child under parental responsibility laws.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Parents Liable for an Injury Their Child Causes in Florida?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn when Florida parents can be held legally responsible for injuries or property damage caused by their minor child under parental responsibility laws.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/are-parents-liable-for-an-injury-their-child-causes-in-florida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fiol &amp; 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