Homeowner Failed To Supervise A Minor Who Seriously Injured A Toddler
$300,000 (.30 million) (policy limits) (2003) Homeowner failed to
supervise a minor who seriously injured a toddler and thereafter
negligently failed to render aid to the toddler. The homeowner and the
victim’s family were neighbors. The homeowner and the victim’s family
exchanged free babysitting services with one another. The homeowner had
an over-weight, mentally-challenged, teenaged son who frequently
imitated the stunts of professional wrestlers. The victim was a two
year old toddler.
While the toddler was in the care of the homeowner, the teenager
pretended to be a professional wrestler and jumped off of a bed and
onto the toddler who was lying down on the floor, face up. The
over-weight teen landed on the toddler’s abdomen with his full body
weight, knees down. The blow was so severe it caused a rupture of the
toddler’s intestines. Although the homeowner new what had happened, she
refused to take the toddler to the hospital and actively concealed from
the toddler’s parents what had occurred. Later, the toddler (who could
not talk) became lethargic and collapsed due to the resulting
infection. The Doctors did not expect the toddler to survive, but she
did.
The main dispute in the case centered on questions of insurance
coverage. The insurance company claimed that fine print in its
insurance policy excluded coverage (such that it had no obligation to
pay even though the homeowner was at fault for failing to supervise and
for failing to render aid).
