4-Year-Old Sued for Negligence

A Manhattan judge ruled Thursday that a lawsuit against a 4-year-old girl for negligence can continue. Juliet Breitman, 4, is being sued by the estate of an elderly woman, Claire Menagh, whom she hit while riding her bicycle. The woman suffered a hip fracture and died three weeks later; her estate is suing Breitman, a 4-year-old playmate named Jacob Kohn, and the children’s parents, who were supervising them. The judge stated that a “parent’s presence alone does not give a reasonable child carte blanche to engage in risky behavior.” No verdict was made on Breitman’s liability in the case.