New law limits parents’ liability when child gets in crash

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Legislation Gov. Scott Walker signed this week means that Wisconsin parents no longer face possible unlimited liability when their children cause damage behind the wheel.

Walker signed a bill Tuesday setting caps on the damage liability that can be imposed on parents or other adults who serve as a sponsor to help someone who is 18 or younger get a driver’s license. The law will now hold the damage liability of such sponsors either to $300,000 or to the limits of any insurance policies the sponsor had previously provided the minor.

When arguing for a similar proposal in 2014, lawmakers had said they were trying to prevent parents from being exposed to almost unlimited liability for any damage their children might have caused behind the wheel. They said they doubted most parents knew how much liability they opened themselves up to when they decided to help their children get driver’s licenses.