Who is responsible for medical bills of a Juvenile with Bodily Injury? 31 Answers as of February 21, 2012

Anytime a child is injured and incurs medical expenses, the parent(s) are responsible overall for the medical expenses. However, if the child is injured by another child, then the parents of the other child may be held responsible for the medical bills. You will need to present a claim against the parents of the offending child. It may require a lawsuit against the parents. Some states have statutes that specifically hold the parents of an offending child responsible for up to a certain dollar amount (often $5,000.00) for damages.

If you do nothing, then you may be paying the bills. So you need to take an active role in getting medical bills paid. the bills can be paid from as part of the criminal charges and/or from liability, Med-pay and/or health insurance and/or a civil suit and/or from Violent Crime compensation Board.

The child's parents can usually be liable for no more than $1,000.00. Even that is questionable. So, criminal charges may be an option but the victims compensation fund is not a really great way to recover medical bills.

You would have to sue.

Seek relief from the boy's parents and consult with an attorney.

Parents are responsible for the medicals of their child. Parents are usually not responsible for the torts (civil wrongs ) of their children

You are legally responsible for the medical bills of your child. If someone else was at fault in causing his injuries that resulted in the treatment, then that person is also responsible. You can sue and recover from that person. I think that the perpetrators parent would not be responsible. This kind of claim would involve a one year statute of limitations.

You are responsible to pay the medical bills incurred by your son, and you need to try to get reimbursed for those bills by the person who caused his injuries. If the person who caused his injuries is a minor, and that minor's parents have homeowner's insurance, you may be able to get the homeowner's insurance to pay for the bills (plus noneconomic damages, too). See a lawyer and he or she can help you.

If the assailant was juvenile you may well be able to recover from his parents. You should speak with an attorney.

Depends. You're better off making "restitution" part of the penalty the kid is ordered to pay through the Court unless you get the money up front from the kid's parents.

You are unless the law requires otherwise or the parents agree to pay.

If it happened on their property, you could file a claim against their homeowners insurance or file suit for the damages caused.

You will be primarily responsible regardless of whether you press charges. If you press charges, the court can make the boy pay (in which case his parents will likely pay). However, if he violates the court order, you are still responsible. You can sue his parents, and I think there is a statute in South Carolina that makes them responsible for up to $5,000.00 in medical costs. However, it is difficult to find attorneys to take these cases, and pressing charges is probably the best way to go.

In California a parent can be held liable for their minor childs conduct up to $25,000 in damages. Heres the statute that governs this: Civil Code 1714.1. Liability of parents and guardians for willful misconduct of minor (a) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in injury or death to another person or in any injury to the property of another shall be imputed to the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages, and the parent or guardian having custody and control shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the willful misconduct. Subject to the provisions of subdivision (c), the joint and several liability of the parent or guardian having custody and control of a minor under this subdivision shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each tort of the minor, and in the case of injury to a person, imputed liability shall be further limited to medical, dental and hospital expenses incurred by the injured person, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability now imposed by law. (b) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in the defacement of property of another with paint or a similar substance shall be imputed to the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages, including court costs, and attorney's fees, to the prevailing party, and the parent or guardian having custody and control shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the willful misconduct, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), except as provided in subdivision (c), for each tort of the minor. (c) The amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be adjusted every two years by the Judicial Council to reflect any increases in the cost of living in California, as indicated by the annual average of the California Consumer Price Index. The Judicial Council shall round this adjusted amount up or down to the nearest hundred dollars. On or before July 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Judicial Council shall compute and publish the amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b), as adjusted according to this subdivision. (d) The maximum liability imposed by this section is the maximum liability authorized under this section at the time that the act of willful misconduct by a minor was committed. (e) Nothing in this section shall impose liability on an insurer for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured for purposes of Section 533 of the Insurance Code. An insurer shall not be liable for the conduct imputed to a parent or guardian by this section for any amount in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Your son can recuperate compensation for his damages via the restitution process (if the boy that assaulted him is convicted or pleads with a restitution agreement) or with a civil claim against him. If the assaulting boy's parents have a homeowner's policy there may be insurance coverage for the incident, though there are exclusions for criminal acts.

Although there are exceptions, the issue of whether parents are liable for the child's misconduct is a civil matter. If you press charges and/or if the state attorney goes forward with charges anyway (assuming the police were already involved, that can happen whether you want it to or not), the parents may owe certain costs to the state but it is unlikely that the court would require the parents to reimburse your son's medical bills (possible, but unlikely). The judge probably would make the responsible child pay restitution including medical expenses, and that may make the parents feel responsible or decide to pay themselves, so that's something. Otherwise, you need to consider a civil action. The parents are not automatically responsible for the actions of a child in a civil case either, but they can be deemed so if they behaved in a way that facilitated the event. For example, if they knew their child was violent but did not take steps to supervise him. It comes down to whether the parents were negligent and if their negligence contributed to this particular event. Sorry there isn't a bright line answer, but that's often the case with the law. Good luck.

Does not matter if you prosecute criminally as medical bills are civil issues. However, a conviction could make the civil case easier.

In Oregon, a parent can be responsible for his/her son's actions, including paying medical bills. The limit to that parent's responsibility (not including the parent's own negligence) is $10,000.00.

Whether or not you press charges does not change their civil liability for the assault. You can sue them for the medical bills if they do not voluntarily pay. You owe the medical providers for the services they rendered your son. You can seek reimbursement from the parents in a lawsuit.