No parent ever wants to hear from their child, “I got in a car accident, someone was hurt, and it was my fault…and the police charged me with careless driving”.
In the same token, no parent ever wants to be sued by an injured person for their child’s negligence regardless if the child has his/her own vehicle and insurance. In a recent decision, Atilho v. Malaviya, 2010 CarswellOnt 11050, the Ontario Superior Court affirmed that negligent supervision of a child is a distinct tort from the negligent driving of the child and as the Plaintiffs’ case against the parents had some merit, the parents’ home insurer had a duty to defend them.
Don’t know where your child is with his/her car? It might be a good time to find out.
