My little brother was playing with a girl and threw a bamboo stick between the spokes of a passing girl, luckily nothing happened but her bike has lost a spoke. (My brother is 8 years old.) At least 6 weeks later we received a letter from the girl’s father that there is an invoice for making the bicycle. This bill amounts to 200 euros because, according to him, the brakes and a lot of other parts have also broken. My mother does not want to pay this amount and says she has been deposed but I do want to know if this gentleman can file a lawsuit for attempted manslaughter (I know how the world works and there are plenty of crazy people who would do it.).
If you can answer this question I would be grateful.
Answer
Dear Wesley,
Do not worry too much. Since your brother is 8 years old and therefore a minor, that man cannot go to a criminal court himself. If a minor commits a crime, only a prosecutor can bring a case to the juvenile court.
As you describe what happened, then there is no question of attempted murder or manslaughter. In order to speak of an attempted murder or manslaughter, the perpetrator must have attempted to kill someone and must also have intended to kill his victim. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case here.
However, your parents are “civilly liable” for the damage caused by your brother. This means that they have to pay the costs of the bicycle and possibly the care of that girl. As for the cost of that bike, of course they only have to pay the cost to the bike that is a result of what your brother has done. They don’t have to pay for things that were already broken on that bicycle.
Answered by
Dr Jeroen De Herdt
Criminal law and criminal procedure
Prinsstraat 13 2000 Antwerp
http://www.uantwerpen.be
.