Child Damages
Question
Melissa asked: Is there a law or statute in Florida that states if a child damages a vehicle with his bike on accident that the parents are responsible for the damage?
Answer
I am not aware of any such statute. Your situation may be addressed by other law which is beyond the scope of this site. I suggest that you retain legal counsel.
if a vehicle is damaged by anyone, it technically is the responsibility of the owner to turn it in to the insurance company and then the insurance company could seek damages, if the person is known that did the damage. if the owner has no insurance, they could seek damages by going through the courts. the only law is a person (parent) is liable if their underage child damages private property, but, does not mean it has to be paid upon the owners request or because they said so. not even a police officer could tell a person this. it should go through the court system, then, the judge will determine and set damages, if any, to be paid, as a person could. this could be a little as $10 or $25 dollars a month or the payment in full at the time of court. now, from a moral point of view, if your child damaged someones property, the right thing to do is try and make restitution to the owner the best you can, by coming to an agreement with the owner, in a civil way, that is reasonable to both parties. if the owner is threatening you, tell them to take you to court, but, remember, record or at least write down the time, date and every word possible of each threatening instance and take that to court with you. if they won’t turn it in to the insurance or take you to court, there is probably a reason they don’t want to do either and then, if i were you, i wouldn’t worry about it any more.