Last Updated: August 22 2026
Can a parent be sued in Ontario if they allow a child and friend to use a snowmobile or other motorized vehicle and someone is injured?
Byfield Legal Services can help paralegal-wise when an injury claim in Ontario may involve negligent entrustment, which can arise if a parent or other person in control unreasonably allows an underage, unqualified, or reckless child or friend to operate a dangerous object like a snowmobile and that access creates an appreciable risk of harm that results in injury to a third party. Courts often assess elements such as entrustment, the operator’s incompetence or inexperience, what the parent knew or ought to have known, a duty of care linked to the unreasonable permission, and whether the operator’s negligence is the proximate cause, with cases explaining this framework such as Persaud v. Bratanov, 2012 ONSC 5232. For guidance on evidence and potential defenses tailored to Ontario facts, call (289) 927-7365 for a free 15-minute consultation with Byfield Legal Services.
Add this website to Google Preferred Sources
Can a Parent Be Sued For Giving a Risky Toy to An Underage Child If Another Child Gets Hurt By Improper Use of the Toy?
When the Owner or Person In Control of a Potentially Dangerous Object, Such As a An Automobile, Boat, Equipment, or Even a Gun, Allows An Unqualified or Untrained Person to Use the Object and Harm to Another Person Results, a Lawsuit May Be Brought...
Note: Please contact Byfield Legal Services by phone at: (289) 927-7365 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.
Understanding Negligent Entrustment Principles Involving Unreasonable Provision of Access to Dangerous Objects
In a situation where the owner or person with the care, custody, or control, of a potentially dangerous object provides, lends, or otherwise allows, the use of the object by an underage, an untrained, or an unqualified, second person, the first person who allowed the second person to use the object may be held liable if an accident results in injuries to a third person.
The Law
The tort of negligent entrustment was well explained in the case of Persaud v. Bratanov, et al, 2012 ONSC 5232, wherein it was said:
[41] Allegations of negligent entrustment have two broad components, namely: (1) proof that the entruster was negligent in entrusting what later became the instrumentality of the damages to the entrustee; and (2) proof that the entrustee was negligent in his or her use of the instrumentality in causing the damages suffered by the plaintiff. See: Unger v. Unger (2003), 2003 CanLII 57446 (ON CA), 68 O.R. (3d) 257 (C.A.) at para. 25-27; Perkull v. Gilbert, 1993 CanLII 583 (BC SC), [1993] B.C.J. No. 1078 (S.C.) at para. 14. The rationale is that when someone supplies a chattel to another, whom the supplier knows or has reason to know is likely, as a result of his or her youth, inexperience or recklessness, to use the chattel in a manner involving an unreasonable risk of harm to others, that supplier should be liable for the harm caused by the negligence of the person entrusted with the chattel. See: Schulz v. Leeside Developments Ltd., 1978 CanLII 1976 (BC CA), [1978] B.C.J. No. 1319 (C.A.) at para. 21.
[42] Cases of negligent entrustment usually arise, as in this case, out of the entrustment of an automobile. In such cases, the judicial authorities suggest that all of the following five elements must be established for liability:
(1) An entrustment of the chattel by its owner to the entrustee;
(2) The entrustee was incompetent, inexperienced or reckless;
(3) The entruster knew or ought to have known of the entrustee’s condition or proclivities;
(4) The entrustment created an appreciable risk of harm to the plaintiff and a coincident relational duty of care on the part of the defendant/entruster; and
(5) The entrustee’s negligence was the proximate or legal cause of the damages suffered by the plaintiff.
As per the Persaud case, negligent entrustment, generally, involves the provision of an automobile or another type of potentially dangerous object such as a snowmobile (see: Perkull v. Gilbert, 1993 CanLII 583, School Division of Assiniboine South No. 3 v. Hoffer et al., 1970 CanLII 882, a watercraft (see: Schulz v. Leeside Developments Ltd., 1978 CanLII 1976; (liability unfound), a farm implement, a gun, a firework, among other things, that are entrusted to an underage person or an unqualified person.
It should take little foresight to appreciate that fireworks, being explosive, have a significant potential to cause harm by injury to persons or damage to property; and accordingly, fireworks in the hands of underage users or otherwise irresponsible users are dangerous. In keeping with negligent entrustment principles, a parent who provides or allows a child to access and use fireworks may be found liable for injuries or damage arising from the use of the fireworks. This situation arose in the case of Tse v. Binns, 2014 ONSC 2091, wherein it was said:
[12] The liability of Joel Binns would be hard to contest. Based on the available evidence and the Statement of Claim, he caused the lit firecracker to strike Eugene Tse in the left eye. The only allegation, in the Statement of Claim, directed at Michael Binns is that he allowed his son to purchase fireworks, when he knew this was dangerous and failed to provide his son with proper warnings and education on how to safely and properly use them. In the absence of any evidence reflecting on Joel Binns, his relationship with his father, the communication between them and anyone suggesting that Michael Binns did not owe a duty of care to Eugene Tse, I am obliged to and do accept that Michael Binns shares in the liability of his son in respect of the injuries suffered by Eugene Tse.
Summary Comment
The tort of negligent entrustment involves liability upon an owner, or person in control, of a dangerous object that arises from the unreasonable permission granting use or operation of the dangerous object to an underage, unqualified, or otherwise irresponsible, person.
NOTE: A considerable quantity of online searches featuring “lawyers near me” or “best lawyer in” typically indicate a desire for prompt and proficient legal assistance rather than a particular title. In Ontario, licensed paralegals fall under the regulation of the same Law Society that governs lawyers, granting them the authority to represent clients in specific litigation scenarios. Core to this role are advocacy, legal assessment, and procedural expertise. Byfield Legal Services provides legal representation within its licensed parameters, focusing on strategic positioning, evidentiary preparation, and effective advocacy to secure efficient and favourable outcomes for clients.
