Call Now
713-521-0059
Not by statute. Chapter 41 of the Texas Family Code, the parental liability statute, reaches property damage only. Section 41.002 caps recovery for willful and malicious conduct at $25,000 per occurrence. It does not make a parent financially responsible for a child’s sexual assault of another child. A negligence claim against the parents, or a claim against an institution, is a separate question.
Families are often told the opposite, and the disappointment tends to arrive late, after a year of assuming there was a claim. Where it happened usually matters more than who did it. A school, a camp, a church, a team, a daycare or a friend’s house each has its own duty, its own record of what it knew, and in most cases its own insurance. What cannot wait is the school’s or program’s file and your child’s counseling records. Call 713-521-0059.
Section 41.001 of the Family Code covers a parent or other person who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of a child. That person is liable for any property damage proximately caused by the negligent conduct of the child, where that conduct is reasonably attributable to the parent’s negligent failure to exercise that duty. The same section reaches property damage caused by the willful and malicious conduct of a child at least 10 but under 18.
Section 41.002 limits recovery for willful and malicious conduct to actual damages not exceeding $25,000 per occurrence. It adds reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees, court costs and expenses. The statute reaches property damage. It does not create a cause of action for a personal injury, and it does not create one for a sexual assault. So you should not be told that a statute makes a parent automatically liable for a sexual assault by their child.
Possibly. A negligence claim against a parent does not depend on Chapter 41. It depends on ordinary negligence principles. You would need to show that the parent knew or should have known of a specific need to control this child, had the ability to do so, and failed.
The facts that make that claim real are specific and documented. A prior incident the parents were told about. A safety plan from a school or a therapist that the parents did not follow. A prior report to the Department of Family and Protective Services. Knowledge that the child had access to something, or to someone, and was left alone with them anyway.
Without facts like those, a claim that the parents should have known is usually not enough. If you know of facts like these, write down what you know and when you learned it.
It depends on how the claim is framed. A homeowner or renter policy usually excludes intentional acts by an insured. So a claim framed only as the child’s intentional assault is one the policy is unlikely to cover. A judgment against the child or the parents personally is usually uncollectible.
A claim framed as the parents’ own negligence is a different coverage question, because the negligence alleged is theirs and it is not intentional. Whether a particular policy responds turns on the policy language and on how the claim is pleaded, and carriers litigate it. That framing decision is made at the pleading stage, not discovered later, and it can decide whether there is any insurance in your case at all.
In many cases, the institution is where your claim is. An organization that takes custody of children usually has a duty to supervise them, and that duty is the same when the abuser is another child. Schools, camps, churches and teams put children together in locker rooms, cabins, buses and unsupervised hours. What the organization knew about the child who did it, what its rules required, and what it did when it first heard are the questions that matter.
The abuser’s age can affect the claim against that child’s family. It does not change what the organization owed your child.
Where the assault happened at a school, a district faces claims under Title IX and Section 1983 with their own demanding standards. Texas governmental immunity limits state-law claims against it. A private school, camp, church or youth organization is not a governmental entity. It is usually judged on ordinary negligence: what it knew, what its screening and supervision required, and whether it followed its own policies.
We cover these claims on our pages about public school sexual abuse and church, camp and private school sexual abuse.
Where your child is a minor, Section 16.001 tolls limitations while the person is younger than 18. Section 16.0045(a) provides thirty years for a claim arising from conduct violating the child sexual offense provisions it lists. Section 16.0045 is written in terms of the conduct, not the defendant. Courts decide whether it reaches a parent or an institution sued for its own negligence. The safe planning assumption is the shorter period: two years under Section 16.003(a), unless a longer period applies, running once the minority tolling ends.
Do not read the thirty year figure and conclude there is no hurry. Records, staff and memories rarely last thirty years. The negligence claim against the institution, which is usually where the recovery is, may run on the shorter clock once your child reaches 18, so plan as if it does. Our page on how long you have to sue goes through the dates.
Every adult who has reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused or neglected must report it under Family Code Section 261.101(a). A professional must report not later than the 24th hour under Section 261.101(b). That duty exists whether or not anyone brings a civil claim. If you are weighing whether to report, understand that it is a legal duty and not a strategic choice.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Crime Victims’ Compensation does not require a defendant. The Texas Attorney General program can pay for counseling, medical care and relocation for a child victim, within its rules. In most cases it does not require an arrest or a conviction, and it can be available whether or not anyone is ever sued. See our page on Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation.
Your child’s counseling record is usually the damages case. For a child, the harm often shows up in school performance, sleep, behavior and regression long before anyone can measure it. Records made at the time by a therapist and by the school are what make it provable years later. Ask the school for its file in writing and early: incident reports, the Title IX file if there is one, safety plans, prior discipline records for the other student, and communications with both families.
Parents in your situation are often told two wrong things: that the other family will automatically have to pay, and that nothing can be done because both children are minors. Usually neither is right. What we can tell you quickly is whether there is an institutional defendant, whether your deadline is two years or thirty, and what should be requested before it is gone. The first conversation is confidential, and it does not commit you to anything.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people and survivors across Texas.
If you are a parent, an advocate or a counselor asking on someone’s behalf, you are welcome to call with a general question. We will not ask you for their name.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Call 713-521-0059.
Not by statute. Chapter 41 of the Family Code reaches property damage only, and Section 41.002 caps recovery for willful and malicious conduct at $25,000 per occurrence. Chapter 41 does not impose parental financial responsibility for a child's sexual assault.
Possibly, on ordinary negligence. You would need facts showing the parents knew or should have known of a specific need to control this child and failed. A prior incident they were told about, a safety plan they ignored, or a prior report are the kinds of facts that can make it a real claim.
A policy usually excludes intentional acts by an insured, so a claim framed only as the child's intentional assault is unlikely to be covered. A claim framed as the parents' own negligence presents a different coverage question, which carriers do litigate. How the claim is pleaded can decide whether there is insurance in the case.
Not to what the organization owed your child. Its duty to supervise is the same whoever the abuser was. The abuser's age can affect the claim against that child's family, but the claim against the organization turns on what it knew, what its rules required and what it did.
Usually the institution. A school district, private school, camp, church, team or daycare that failed to supervise, or that knew about a risk and did nothing. Those defendants often carry insurance, and individuals generally do not.
Limitations are tolled while your child is under 18 under Section 16.001. Section 16.0045(a) allows thirty years for claims arising from listed child sexual offenses. Courts decide whether that period reaches a school or organization sued for its own negligence. The safe assumption is two years under Section 16.003(a) once tolling ends, so do not treat thirty years as your deadline.