<p>Well its a rural area. The Sheriff’s daughter was a senior and although not sure i believe she was present. I understand it but dont condone it.</p>
<p>chuck that is shocking and very sad!</p>
<p>I don’t know about the situation in which the parent doesn’t know about it, but in the case where the parent DOES know the kid’s been drinking, here is my opinion, for what it’s worth:</p>
<p>I wonder why everyone is so concerned about liability. Isn’t everyone missing something far more important - like the lives that might be lost if the kids leave the home drunk?</p>
<p>If some of my son’s friends showed up at my house drunk, I would insist that they either stay or ride with someone. If they refused, I’d tell them that I’ll call the cops if they leave. Non-negotiable.</p>
<p>Whether it’s my legal responsibility to do that is irrelevant. No way would I let someone who’s been drinking leave my house driving a car.</p>
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<p>So true! I am amazed at how naive some parents are.</p>
<p>So, if a parent hires a babysitter under the age of 18 and anything at all goes wrong, then should the parent be held liable?</p>
<p>“Should” or “would”? If I have an employee at work who breaks the law and endangers others, even if I don’t know about it, I am held liable.</p>
<p>I meant ‘would’. If so, why would anyone hire a <18 y/o babysitter?</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree with you on the workplace scenario. If you’re a manager and you have no knowledge of the lawbreaker/harrasser you and the employer may not be liable. If you do know about it but do nothing to mitigate the problem, then you and the company can be held liable.</p>
<p>All they have to do is prove by a preponderance of the evidence (51%) is that the employee was indifferent or negligent - it is a rather low test. Most would settle out of court.</p>
<p>Most times companies are held strictly liable for the wrongs of their employees while on duty. The burden of proof would be on the employer to show that they should not be held liable.</p>
<p>I would not let an adult who came to my house intoxicated leave as a driver. The danger is just too much. I would call the police if he/she resisted in giving me his car keys and accepting a ride from someone sober or taking a cab. The same would go for kids. If I could reach the parents, I would call, but if it looked like the kid was going to drive off intoxicated or with drink on his breath, I would call the police after warning him of what I my plans. </p>
<p>There is always a liability issue when a disaster/tragedy occurs and plenty of blame to spread around. THere is also an uncertainty factor, unless you saw the kid come into the house with alcohol on his breath. He may have snuck in a bottle of something, other kids in the house may have a stash or they may be indulging in your private store. Even if you end up “proving” that he came to your house after drinking elsewhere, you are not going to look very good for just standing there and letting him drive off.</p>
<p>“If I could reach the parents, I would call, but if it looked like the kid was going to drive off intoxicated or with drink on his breath, I would call the police after warning him of what I my plans.”</p>
<p>Absolutely. But the scary thing here is that I spoke directly to these kids and I had no idea they’d been drinking! They didn’t smell, and their behavior was typical of excited, happy teenagers. Unless I stand at the door when people leave my house and get close enough to smell their breath (like inches away from their mouths), it’s pretty hard to tell. I can’t even tell if my husband’s had anything to drink unless I get close enough to kiss!</p>
<p>The alcohol limit for drinking and driving here is basically nothing, for those under 21 that is. And there are lots of teens who go out on Saturday night and have a couple beers or surreptitious sips of vodka at a party, not drink the whole bottle. I’m not worried about catching the obvious drunk. I’m worried about the ones who are staying under the radar. This incident made it plain to me that we adults are not omnipotently aware of all their sneaky and secretive behaviors.</p>