Can you be liable for the negligence of your minor child?

The Supreme Court of Appeal dealt with this question in Wessels v Pretorius 2007 JDR 0861 (SCA). The defendant's 16-year old son, Albert Wessels, performed a dangerous manouevre known as a ‘handbrake turn’ in the father's bakkie. One of the passengers, Benjamin Pretorius, was thrown clear of the bakkie and was badly injured. Benjamin's father sued Benjamin's  father both in his representative capacity for the damages caused by his son due to his negligent driving of the vehicle and from Albert’s father in his personal capacity, seeking to hold him liable because he negligently allowed Albert to drive the vehicle without supervision, when it was reasonably foreseeable that Albert would drive without reasonable care.

The Court found that Albert had been negligent and that his negligence had been a contributing factor to the damages suffered by Benjamin. Because Benjamin knew that Albert was about to perform the dangerous manouevre and participated willingly, the court apportioned fault between Albert and Benjamin at 65:35. The court also found that Albert’s father exercised a power and duty to oversee the conduct of Albert and his friends on the day in question, that he allowed and perhaps encouraged Albert to use the vehicle when it was reasonably foreseeable that Albert would not exercise proper care in driving it and that injury to the passengers was a foreseeable consequence. Accordingly, the Court held the father liable to pay Benjamin's damages.

This decision means that you as a parent must take all reasonable steps to prevent your children from exposing others to injury. In this case the father could have either withheld consent or secured the keys to the vehicle. Failure to take reasonable steps in similar circumstances may expose parents to personal liability for the conduct of their children.

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