Liability for damage caused by child: Legal advice

Questioner

Hi, I have a question, my 15 year old son attends a cluster 3 school for chronically ill children, he is mentally handicapped and has epilepsy! Now yesterday he damaged a motorbike that was on the sidewalk when they were walking back from the gym, he bumped it with his bag against the mirror. The motorbike didn't fall. The teacher was there, she lifted the protective cover to see if there was any damage (a bit strange). The school itself did little about this, yes they exchanged telephone numbers, but neither the school nor the other party even went to assess the damage? Now I got a call from this gentleman in the evening and the damage was enormous. Mirror and hood broken? Can I hold the school liable? My son is confused and doesn't understand anything, I think this is a strange story?

Lawyer

In this situation, there is an unlawful act committed by a child who has already reached the age of 14 but is not yet 16. In this case, the person exercising parental authority is liable for the damage caused. If an unlawful act is committed by a person aged 14 or older under the influence of a mental or physical disability, this does not mean that you are not liable. As a parent, you remain liable in this case. However, if your son's teacher did not supervise your son sufficiently, which allowed this to happen, you can oblige the teacher to contribute to the compensation. Because the teacher is employed by the school and performed her task as a subordinate, you can oblige the school to contribute to the compensation.