If your child is convicted in a case where another person suffered bodily injury or property damage, you could be held liable for the financial losses that occurred as a result of this incident. These cases can be complex, and if you want to be sure that your rights are protected, as a parent you should hire a Stamford criminal attorney sooner rather than later to discuss your case.

Connecticut law has provisions that allow for parental financial liability as a result of willful criminal acts of children. Parents could be held financially responsible for up to $5,000 in losses. The parental liability statute tends to be on the other party’s side in a case like this, since it’s often not necessary to provide proof that the parent was negligent. A criminal conviction involving the child where losses occurred is generally enough to provide the grounds for a parental liability case.

Parental liability can be brought into cases where parents were aware of a “dangerous tendency” within the child. For example, the parents of a child who had previously expressed an interest in fire or damaged property in the home as a result of fire could be held liable for damages and injuries that resulted from an incident with fire elsewhere. If a child damages (willfully and maliciously) property or takes a motor vehicle without the permission of the owner and damages it, a parent can be held severally and jointly liable in the case and have to pay financial losses to the other party.