What could happen in your break a law and a child gets hurts?

We have a situation where my boyfriend's ex-wife bought their 4 year old son a four wheeler for Christmas. We recently found out that no child under the age of 8 is allowed to operate an atv in our state, and we also recently found out that she bought the four wheeler knowing this law. If the four year old gets hurt while illegally riding this ATV, what penalties could she face? Also, could my boyfriend be held accountable?

She could face child endangerment charges if the boy gets hurt or is killed. You BF should call the local police department and find out exactly what the laws are and what he can do, this is too important to get random opinions. As long as there's a record that he tried to intervene he should be clear. He obviously won't be supervising the boy so I think that is beyond his control.

Neglect charges if he was hurt, criminally negligent homicide if he died, maybe, if your boyfriend really pushed the matter.

Instead of worrying about penalties she could face and risking their son getting hurt, why not explain to her that it is ILLEGAL for a 4 year old to ride on it, let your boyfriend's lawyer know, and document the incident. Prevent the injury before it happens.

Usually this comes up with negligence claims. To prove negligence you have to show duty, breach of the duty, causation, and damages. When a law is broken and it results in the damages, then you do not have to prove duty and breach. In other words, it makes it easier to recover for a civil wrong.

Becuase it the person who broke the law (i.e., the child) was also the person who was harmed, this rule would not come into play. It sounds like this is what you arereferring to.

As for bringing a civil claim against the husband/ex-wife, you might be able to do this. It might not make sense though -- given that he would be paying himself.

As for criminal charges, he may be charged with child endangerment or neglect. Maybe. You can always contact the state authorities (i.e., CPS) to see. They should be able to tell you whether the facts warrant prosecution. Otherwise, you might ask one of the attorneys who answer free legal questions at http://www.lawfiles.net

She could face huge charges.

it would be child neglect, and Social Services would get involved.

God forbid if the child was fatally hurt, she's probably face years in prison, for neglect and reckless endangerment of a child.

He's four years old for god sakes.

I don't think your boyfriend would be held accountable.

He didn't purchase the ATV and he wouldn't be punished if he wasn't around.

Instead of waiting for the child to be hurt, I would be contacting the police or child services to make them aware of the situation. Maybe they can see the 4 yr old riding the ATV and follow up from there.

No your boyfriend wouldn't be held accountable, since he's not living there and had no say in the buying the thing.

If your boyfriend was not the parent in charge when/if it happened, he would not be held accountable. ATVs are just a bad idea for the most part (when it comes to young children). Has your boyfriend discussed it w/her?

Really depends on the laws of the state, but I'd think yes, this could cause some heavy legal penalties, especially if the child got hurt.

Re: the boyfriend: If he knows about the situation and isn't stopping in, it is definitely possible he could face some kind of charges too. Again, it really depends on the state and the laws.