A man shot by a minor is taking the unusual step of bringing the youth’s parents to court, claiming their negligence led to his injuries.
Legal experts say it is difficult to hold parents responsible for the actions of a teenager.
Carlos Quinones, 16 at the time, shot Salvador Jose Ramirez on Aug. 7 while trying to rob him at a bus stop at Fox Street and West 38th Avenue in Denver, according to prosecutors and the lawsuit.
Ramirez’s attorney, Mark Simon, filed a lawsuit July 24 in Denver District Court, saying Esteban and Martha Quinones – Carlos’ parents – failed to supervise their son and allowed him access to a gun.
University of Denver law professor Tom Russell said lawsuits against parents are more common when a person is hurt after a teen drinking party, but they are rare in a case of an intentional crime.
“It’s not going to be an expectation that the parents of an older teen know what he’s doing all the time,” Russell said, adding that one similar case was the lawsuit against the parents of the Columbine shooters that was settled. “I think it’s fairly unusual.”
Carlos Quinones was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty in December to second-degree assault, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office. He was sentenced to six years in the Youthful Offender System, and if he completes that successfully, he will avoid a suspended 12-year adult prison term, she said.
The lawsuit asks for reasonable and necessary damages, including $10,000 in medical bills. Ramirez suffered severe injuries to his leg, groin and hip in the shooting, the lawsuit said.
The law holds parents responsible for up to $3,500 in damages done by a child, but to receive more than that, a plaintiff must prove the parents acted negligently, Russell said.
Simon said he will need discovery and depositions to determine exactly how the parents were negligent, but he believes his client deserves compensation. He said parents should be responsible for their children but he isn’t using the case to send a message.
“I’m primarily trying to help my client,” he said, adding that the medical bills were picked up by Medicare so they would have to be reimbursed if the lawsuit is successful. “I don’t think you use district court for social advocacy.”
Clare Huntington, associate law professor at the University of Colorado, said Ramirez has an uphill fight.
“Parents have certain rights and responsibilities, but they’re more towards children such as providing clothes and a home,” she said. “They don’t generally extend to members of the public.”
