Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 429
in a gun incident, and you fail to better supervise, discipline, or
take control of their shooting, you will almost certainly be liable
for subsequent shooting incidents.
EXAMPLE:
In preparation for the annual family hunting trip, Larry took his
16-year-old son Robert to the outdoor shooting range. As
happens every year, while at the range, Robert was haphazard
and intentionally unsafe in his handling of his firearm. Robert,
who refuses to take anything seriously, repeatedly pointed his
firearm in the direction of other persons, and even discharged his
gun into the air three times while ululating. Larry scolded Robert
by telling him that it is “not nice” to point guns at other people.
During the hunting trip, Robert randomly fired his shotgun for
no apparent reason into the trees. Robert’s last shot hit a fellow
hunter standing among the trees.
Is Larry liable for his minor son Robert’s acts? Probably yes.
Larry was well aware of the fact that Robert handles firearms
in a dangerous manner, and Larry failed to take any reasonable
measures to prevent Robert from injuring another person. The
law would very likely find that Larry’s failure to reasonably
discipline and supervise his child proximately caused the injury
to the other hunter.
The second subsection provides per se (i.e., automatic), but limited,
liability for willful and malicious damages caused by a child aged
10-17. This will commonly cover incidents of vandalism but
could also encompass intentional (but not negligent) shootings.
The damages under this subsection are capped at $25,000.
418 | CHAPTER SIXTEEN
