my child broke fireplace at friends house

oneeye1

my 2 year ol picked up what he thought was a ball turned out to be a heavy ornament and dropped it.it has broken the cornrr of the hearth(floor)of the fireplace.

now then i believe i have some responsibility (even tho my wife had constantly been told by her friend the house was child proof so dont worry relax) but the friend seems to think we are 100% responsible.as we hav nt had a figure for the damage yet we avnt said anything in case its negligible and we just pay.however if its a large amount what do you guys think would be a fair comprimise

also if they claim on their insurance what are there future consequences ie will they they re premiums be a lot higher than if they didnt claim

thanx

no-oneknowsme

My own opinion would be that if it were your child who caused the damage then it should be YOU who pays !

Why should your wifes friend have to pay through her own house insurance ?

You make it sound as though your wifes friend "owes" it to you to have her home safe for your child to play in ?

Its up to you to keep your child safe , not the friend.

Personally if your child broke something in my home i would be expecting you to pay.

Its common courtesy to keep a close eye on your kids in other peoples homes

Nelski

Why should your friend lose her no claims bonus or have higher payments because of your child. I would pay up out of sheer embarrassment not expect them to sort it out

pink_princess

It depends ,if I was watching my friends child when it happend I would view it as my fault for not supervising them closely enough.If my friend was supervising the child then she d be liable in my view .

Nelski

pink_princess wrote: »

It depends ,if I was watching my friends child when it happend I would view it as my fault for not supervising them closely enough.If my friend was supervising the child then she d be liable in my view .

Good point hadn't thought of that - were you there when it happened?

ekkygirl

I would not make you pay. My neighbours little boy threw a rock in the air that landed on my car roof. I would not expect her to pay as she didn't do it and he didn't mean it. She did offer but would have been too expensive so I left it. Sometimes friendship is worth more than money.

richardvc

You should pay and do the necessary running around.

Sadly your son did the damage and you are 100% responsible for his actions especially as he is only two years of age.

Sorry not good news I'm afraid.

richardvc

ekkygirl wrote: »

I would not make you pay. She did offer but would have been too expensive so I left it. Sometimes friendship is worth more than money.

So if that's the case then they should pay for the repairs / replacement without having to be asked !! As you say, friendship is worth more than money.

dunstonh

I think it really comes down to who was supervising the child at the time.

jackieb

Was the 2yo left on his own? I'm wondering how no-one noticed he was about to pick up an ornament.

Dellers

Its your child your wife was not watching the child .So its your wife's fault not the friend and yes you should pay.