11 yr old Son being Sued

[Danielle dest]

My 11 yr old son is being sued in small claims court. I asked judge to drop because of age and he wouldn't. We are scheduled for trial in March. The incident occured on a school playground. He is accused of purposefully tripping a schoolmate. The parents have bought suit for time lost from work, stained clothing, and medical bills. The child was not injured badly (hurt finger, not broked) and in fact is ok and went back to school the next day. The parents insurance paid the medical bills. We were not notified by the school of this accident until 3 days later. Then the parents started calling us asking for money. I did not document calls. I have a letter from school saying my son admitted to the accident. He says he was forced to sit in the office until he confessed. The school put it in writing that my son hurt the other child willfully by playing a prank although no adult on duty witnessed the accident. In the mean time the kid that was hurt has been harrassing my son for years calling him names and punching and hitting him. This is the first incident my child has ever had. He is under severe emotional distress over going to court and having to go back. He has physical distress, throwing up etc and has not been able to return to school since the court date (WED). We have seen a dr. and he's advised counciling. Do I have recourse over this? Suffolk NY

[Edited by Danielle Dest on 01-28-2001 at 08:51 PM]

 

[JETX]

Are you sure that your son is the party??? Normally, the party would be the parent, for the malicious and negligent actions of your minor son.

You need to file a response with the court and then make an appearance so that you can tell your side of the story. Make sure that the Plaintiffs are required to document their damages. Let the judge decide who is at fault (it sounds like your son was negligent to me) and what the damages might be.