Part Two - Parental Negligence and Parental Immunity - Washington State Law

The courts in Washington have rejected numerous attempts to hold a parent legally responsible for injuries caused to the child based on allegations of inadequate supervision.  But recently the Washington Supreme Court ruled that a step-parent may not be protected under the Parental Immunity Doctrine if that step-parent was not truly acting as a parent to the child.  In that case, the step-parent fell asleep and the 3-year-old step-daughter fell into the family swimming pool and drowned.   It turned out the step-parent had previously taken out a life insurance policy on the child, an unusual action by a step-parent to say the least.  Also, the step-parent had only recently married the child’s mother so there was a factual question of whether the step-parent had sufficient time to form a parent-child relationship and thus be entitled to the protection of the Parental Immunity Doctrine. 

In another case the parents of a severely injured child were immune even though they were fully aware of the hazard which injured their child and had previously warned him to stay away.   In another case a father was held immune when his 3 year-old son was severely burned in a fire that the father had started in the back yard and then left the child alone.   But it is important to remember that the Parental Immunity Doctrine only protects negligent conduct in certain situations.  A parent may still be legally and financially responsible for intentional conduct that harms the child, like physical and sexual abuse.

Seattle Attorney Helps Injured Children In Washington State

Christopher M. Davis has been a licensed attorney in the state of Washington since 1993 and is the founder of the Davis Law Group.  He has tried dozens of personal injury cases to verdict and has successfully handled and resolved hundreds of accident claims, many of which involve children. 

Davis Law Group founder Christopher Davis is recognized as one of the Puget Sound area's most innovative and experienced personal injury lawyers, solely devoting his practice to personal injury cases such as: car and truck accidents, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases.

Labels: accident attorney child law lawyer Parental Immunity parental negligency washington state