Are Georgia Parents Responsible When Their Child Causes an Injury?

You're a Georgia parent, worried about being held financially responsible for a child's misconduct. When your child injures someone or damages their property, can they force you to pay compensation ("damages," in the language of the law)? The short answer is: Sometimes, yes.

Georgia's parental responsibility laws provide two avenues for an injured person or property owner to collect damages from you. First, Georgia has a couple of statutes that sometimes make parents pay for a child's wrongful acts. Second, Georgia's common law—court-made rules holding people liable when they harm others or damage their property—makes parents pay when their own behaviors cause injury.

We examine these Georgia parental responsibility rules to see when you can be forced to pay for your child's misbehavior.

Georgia's Parental Liability Statutes

Two statutes might force Georgia parents to pay for their child's misdeeds. The first is Ga. Code § 51-2-2 (2024). This statute sometimes makes a parent pay damages for their child's tortious conduct—intentional or negligent acts that cause personal injuries or property damage.

The second is Ga. Code § 51-2-3 (2024), Georgia's vandalism statute. It holds a parent liable when their minor child maliciously injures someone or damages or destroys their property.

The Tortious Conduct Statute

Ga. Code § 51-2-2 (2024)—the tortious conduct statute—codifies Georgia's version of the common law "family purpose doctrine." If that sounds like a bunch of legalese, it is. Let's sort it out.

What is the family purpose doctrine? The family purpose doctrine started life long ago as a common law (court-made) legal rule. Under the common law, a parent wasn't (and still isn't) liable for their child's harmful conduct simply because of the parent-child relationship. To make a parent pay, the child had to be the parent's agent—meaning the child was doing some task on behalf of the parent, and was subject to the parent's control.

When this parent-child agent relationship existed, the common law said the child was engaged in a "family purpose." Thus was born the family purpose doctrine. Note, importantly, that parental responsibility under the family purpose doctrine is what the law sometimes calls "vicarious liability." The parent is responsible, not because the parent did something wrong, but because the child did. The parent, in other words, is on the hook for their child's misconduct.

Statute codifies the family purpose doctrine. Ga. Code § 51-2-2 (2024) simply took Georgia's common law family purpose doctrine and turned it into a statute. Typically, it applies in cases when a child causes an accident while driving the family car. To prove parental liability, the plaintiff (the party who's suing) must establish several legal elements. (See, for example, Dashtpeyma v. Wade, 285 Ga. App. 361, 362-63 (2007).)

Your lawyer can fill you in on the details.

Georgia's Vandalism Statute

A parent (or guardian) who has custody and control of a minor child—younger than 18—can be liable for damages of up to $10,000 plus court costs when the child willfully or maliciously causes:

• injury to a person resulting in reasonable medical expenses, or
• damage to property.

(Ga. Code § 51-2-3(a) (2024).)

Parental Liability Under Georgia Common Law

Up to this point, we've only talked about a parent's vicarious liability for their child's misconduct. But what happens when a parent's own wrongdoing combines with their child's wrongful conduct to cause harm? When a parent's intentional or negligent acts cause or contribute to cause personal injuries or property damage, Georgia's common law makes the parent answer for their share of the blame.

Here's an example. Following a summer afternoon of swimming and drinking alcoholic beverages at the family's backyard pool, 17 year old Steve asked his father Jeff—who knew Steve and his friends had spent the afternoon drinking—for the keys to the family car. Jeff handed over the keys.

On the way to a friend's house, Steve lost control of the car and hit a tree. The collision badly injured Mike, one of Steve's friends. Mike and his parents sued Steve and his father Jeff for negligence. Jeff, they claimed, negligently entrusted the family car to Steve, knowing he was under the influence of alcohol.

After a trial, the jury agreed. Applying Georgia common law rules, jurors found Steve and Jeff each 50% responsible for the wreck. Steve negligently drove while under the influence. Jeff is liable, not because Steve drove negligently, but because Jeff negligently turned over the keys to his son. Jeff will be responsible for (at least) 50% of Mike's damages.

Get Help With Your Parental Liability Case

No matter which side of a parental liability case you're on—a parent trying to avoid liability or an injury victim looking to hold a parent responsible—you need experienced legal counsel to guide you through the process. It's easy to make a costly error while trying to navigate through the maze of statutory and common law rules.

If you need help getting started, here's how to find a lawyer near you.