Are Oklahoma Parents Responsible When Their Child Causes an Injury?

If someone is injured by another person's negligence or intentional acts, they usually seek compensation directly from the person who caused the harm. Sometimes, though, a minor's parents can be held financially responsible for the behavior of their child. Oklahoma's civil and criminal codes include laws that determine when parents are liable for their children's harmful acts. An injured person may also be able to sue the parents directly if their own irresponsibility contributed to the incident.

Oklahoma's Parental Responsibility Statute

Like most states, Oklahoma has a parental responsibility law that makes parents financially liable for their children's acts in certain situations.

The law has two sections. The first section covers parental responsibility for a child's criminal or delinquent behavior. The second section specifically addresses when parents can be held responsible for a child's misuse of a firearm or other weapon.

Parental Responsibility for Criminal or "Delinquent" Behavior

The first section of Oklahoma's parental responsibility law only applies when a child is under age 18 and living with their parents. They child must also have committed a "criminal or delinquent act" that resulted in:

• physical injury to the victim
• damage to the victim's property, or
• theft of the victim's property.

The statute places a $2,500 cap on the amount of money a victim can collect from the minor's parents. (We'll talk more below about a victim's options for recovering higher amounts.)

(Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 10 (2024).)

The statute's focus on "criminal or delinquent" acts is an important limit on parental liability. Under the statute, parents can't be held responsible for their children's behavior unless it violates one of Oklahoma's criminal laws. (A "delinquent act" also involves a violation of criminal law—the term "delinquent" is used when a child's criminal activity is dealt with through the state's juvenile justice system, instead of by an adult criminal court.)

This limitation means that, if a child hurts someone through carelessness, the victim can't seek financial compensation from the parents under the statute. (They may have other options, which we'll discuss below.) This means that most of the acts that trigger liability involve intentional criminal behavior, like vandalism or assault and battery. A child's careless behavior is only covered by the statute if it's so reckless and dangerous that it rises to the level of criminal negligence.

Keep in mind that a victim can seek compensation under the statute even if the minor who caused their injury has not been convicted in criminal court (or judged delinquent in juvenile court). Any court hearing a case brought under the parental responsibility law has the authority to examine a minor's actions and decide if it's the kind of behavior that is punishable under one of Oklahoma's criminal laws.

(Westlake Presbyterian Church, Inc. v. Cornforth, 940 P.2d 1208 (Okla. Civ. App. 1997).)

The Difference Between Infractions and "Criminal or Delinquent" Behavior

Not every violation of the law counts as "criminal or delinquent" behavior. Oklahoma's statute is talking specifically about felonies and misdemeanors—the kinds of crimes that can be punished with jail time.

On the other hand, minor offenses that are punished with fines are considered infractions, and they don't create liability under the Oklahoma parental responsibility statute.

Consider, for example, a situation where a minor with a valid driver's license fails to yield at a stop sign and causes an accident. In general, running a stop sign is a traffic infraction, not a criminal act. Therefore, under Oklahoma law, the minor's parents probably wouldn't be liable for the other driver's vehicle damage.

But imagine that the minor didn't just run one stop sign, but instead was going twice the speed limit and ignored three stop signs before causing an accident. In that case, the minor might have engaged in reckless driving, which is a misdemeanor offense in Oklahoma. In that case, the parents could be liable under the parental responsibility statute.

(Glidden v. Higgs, 839 P.2d 680 (Okla. Civ. App. 1992).)

Parental Responsibility for a Child's Misuse of a Firearm

The second section of Oklahoma's parental responsibility statute defines when parents can be held liable for their child's misuse of a weapon.

Under Oklahoma law, parents must not allow their children to possess guns or other dangerous weapons in certain circumstances. If a parent has been found guilty of violating this law, then the second section of the parental responsibility statute entitles victims to seek compensation from that parent.

For a parent to be found guilty of illegally allowing their child to possess a dangerous weapon, the state must prove that:

• a child possessed a firearm or other dangerous weapon, and
• the child was only able to possess the weapon because the parent allowed it, or recklessly failed to prevent it.

In addition, the state must prove either that:

• the parent knew there was a "substantial risk" the child would use the weapon to commit a crime, or
• the child had previously been convicted (or judged delinquent) for a crime that involved using or threatening to use force against another person.

(Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 10(B) (2024); Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1273(B) (2024).)

Oklahoma Parents are Liable for Their Own Negligence

In addition to its parental responsibility statute, Oklahoma has common-law negligence rules that may come into play when someone is harmed by a minor. In cases like these, the victim must be able to show that the parents themselves behaved in an irresponsible way that allowed their child to hurt someone.

Suing Parents for Negligence

In any negligence lawsuit, a victim must prove that their injuries were caused by the defendant's carelessness. The same principle applies in cases where a victim is harmed by a minor, and wants to sue the minor's parents for negligence. Parents can't control everything their children do. But the law recognizes that parents have a duty to take reasonable steps to make sure their children don't put other people in danger.

When someone is found negligent in a civil lawsuit, they become liable for the victim's damages. These damages can include both economic damages (like damaged property, lost wages, and medical bills) and non-economic damages (like the pain and suffering caused by the accident).

So, let's go back to our earlier example about a minor who causes an accident by running a stop sign. Even responsible drivers sometimes make mistakes and cause accidents. So, the fact that a young, relatively new driver got distracted or made a bad decision wouldn't be strong evidence of parental negligence.

But imagine that the parents knew that their child had been in several minor fender benders, and had a bad habit of driving over the speed limit and forgetting to check for stop signs. In that case, the parents would have a responsibility either to prevent their child from driving, or to give them enough supervision and instruction to be safe behind the wheel. Failure to take these kinds of steps could be the basis for a negligence lawsuit against the parents for damages caused by their child's bad driving.

Keep in mind that compensation for most car accidents is handled through insurance, not lawsuits. That's also true for most accidents caused by teen drivers. If the parents have adequate coverage, and have added their child to their auto insurance policy, a victim will almost certainly be able to recover their losses without going to court at all.

A Victim May Have Multiple Options for Seeking Compensation

Oklahoma law doesn't force victims to choose between suing for negligence and seeking compensation under the parental responsibility statute. If the facts support both approaches, then a victim can pursue them both at the same time.

For example, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals considered a case where a 15-year-old boy took dynamite that was being stored by his father, and used it to destroy a bulldozer. The bulldozer belonged to Tulsa County, which sought compensation:

• under the parental responsibility statute, because destroying the tractor was a criminal act that the child committed while living with his father;
• under a negligence theory, arguing that the child would not have had access to dynamite if his father had taken reasonable steps to properly store the explosives.

The appeals court overruled the trial court, finding that it was a mistake to require the county to drop its statutory claim before it could move forward with its negligence claim.

(Board of Cty. Com'rs of Tulsa v. Harkey, 601 P.2d 125 (Okla. Civ. App. 1979).)

As we'll discuss more below, if you have multiple options then it's important to carefully consider the best way to seek compensation. For example, Oklahoma does not place a statutory limit on the amount of damages a plaintiff can receive for their economic losses and their pain and suffering. This may mean that a negligence lawsuit would be preferable to pursuing a claim under the parental responsibility statute—but only if your financial losses exceed the statute's $2,500 limit.

Oklahoma Parents Can Be Ordered to Pay Restitution in Criminal Cases

When a person is convicted of a crime, the court may require that person to pay restitution to the victim. Like the civil damages we discussed above, restitution is money paid to a victim to compensate them for the harms they've suffered. Unlike civil damages, restitution can only be imposed as part of the sentence in a criminal case.

In Oklahoma, when a minor is convicted of a crime (or judged delinquent), courts have broad power to order the parents to pay restitution on behalf of their child. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that a parent can be ordered to pay restitution for their child's criminal acts even if the child was not living with that parent at the time. It also doesn't matter if the parent had legal custody of the child.

Courts also have significant authority to decide the amount of restitution parents must pay. Unlike compensation under the state's parental responsibility law, restitution is not subject to a $2,500 cap. Instead, courts can award the victim whatever compensation will fairly compensate them for their losses. (If the victim has also been awarded damages in civil court, restitution may be lowered to account for the money the parents are already required to pay.)

(In re J.L.M., 109 P.3d 336 ( Okla. 2005); In re State ex rel. T.L.B., 218 P.3d 534 (Okla. Civ. App. 70).)

What to Ask If You're Seeking Compensation from Parents in Oklahoma

If you've been harmed by a minor in Oklahoma, the best approach (or approaches) to seeking compensation will depend on the details of what happened. Some questions to keep in mind include:

• Was the minor's behavior criminal? If not, then you won't be able to seek compensation under the parental responsibility statute, and won't be entitled to restitution. You may still be able to recover damages through a negligence lawsuit.
• Did the minor's parents behave irresponsibly? If so, then they may be liable under Oklahoma's negligence rules, even if their child's behavior wasn't criminal. But remember that it can be difficult to prove parental negligence. The law doesn't punish parents for failing to be above average, or for not being exceptionally careful and attentive. Proving parental negligence requires a plaintiff to show that the defendant failed to meet even the minimum standard for responsible parenting.
• Did the minor use a gun or other dangerous weapon? If so, then it's possible the parent will be convicted of failing to keep the weapon out of their child's hands. This creates an option for seeking compensation under the second section of the parental responsibility statute.

Learn More About Oklahoma's Parental Responsibility Laws

Whether you've been hurt by a minor's behavior, or someone has accused your child of wrongdoing, it's important to understand your rights and obligations under Oklahoma law. A parent's liability, and a victim's options for seeking compensation, depend on how several different state laws apply to the facts of the case. It can be difficult to sort all of that out on your own. So it may be helpful to seek out an attorney who knows Oklahoma law and has experience handling these kinds of cases. They should be able to explain your options and help you decide how to proceed.