Summer vacation is drawing to a close, and West Virginia teens are trying to squeeze in a few more days of fun before the academic year begins. Parents should be aware that having teenage guests at their house can lead to trouble or tragedy if proper supervision is not maintained. Recently, the death of a teenage girl resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit for the host family.
The parents of the deceased child say that she was allowed to visit friends in another state. Apparently, the group of teens had unsupervised access to alcohol during the trip. Even though the girl was not of legal drinking age, alcohol consumption was not prevented.
After drinking enough alcohol to become intoxicated, the girl was allowed access to the keys to an ATV. With her blood alcohol content over twice the legal limit, the girl took off on the vehicle and crashed. She died from her injuries.
Her devastated parents wasted no time taking legal action to hold the adults legally responsible for the death. They attest that lack of supervision directly contributed to the death because the adults present failed to prevent a child from drinking and driving. West Virginia parents in a similar situation may want to consider contacting an attorney to help with the court proceedings. A wrongful death suit has the potential to result in a verdict that includes a monetary award, which can be used to cover medical bills, funeral costs, grief counseling and other expenses that may otherwise fall upon the victim’s family instead of the people who neglected to supervise the child in the hours leading up to her tragic death.
