Your teenager approaches you wanting to have a party, and your emotions are obviously mixed. On the one hand, it’s great that he or she is approaching you about it, and not trying to sneak it by when you and your husband are out of town. It’s better to know about this and be there to keep an eye out, right? But on the other hand, you know that you can’t be everywhere at once, and there’s a good chance that something will happen that you can’t control. Teenagers are confused, sex-crazed lunatics, driven by the need to fit in, and drugs, alcohol and inappropriate behavior could still happen even right there under your nose. But if your teen is graduating high school or celebrating some landmark achievement, how can you deny them a party? So you go ahead with it, fingers crossed, hoping for the best but ready for the worst.
What could that be? Well, if you’re a mother it’s all too easy to come up with a likely set of circumstances. Perhaps, regardless of your best intentions, some of your teenager’s friends sneak booze into the party. They drink it without your knowledge, leave, and then get into a car crash. It’s a horrible feeling, one that’s all too familiar to parents who have found themselves in that position. Aside from the emotional shock and impact on your teen, what else could go wrong? Well, for one, what happens if you end up being sued for negligence by the parents of the kids who got into the accident? Are you actually liable for that?
Generally speaking, no individual can be held liable for a negligent action performed by another individual. So on the surface, you should be in the clear. But there are a few exceptions to the rule. What you need to understand is that you can be held liable if it is shown that you had some sort of control over the actions of that third [Read more…]
