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  1. #1

    Question Can You Sue Your Parents for Neglect

    Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of Expert Law. I come to you with an interesting question, one that I feel only you as a community can come to answer; can I sue my parents for neglect? Please give me time to explain my entire story.

    I am a 14 year old boy living within Newark, New Jersey. I am the middle child of my family, which contains a 16 year old sister and a 7 year old sister. My parents are currently together. We have had this personal issue in the June of 2012 where our house had caught on fire due to a gas tank explosion. Long story short, my father had enlisted a company to fix our roof which would always leak during rainy weather. They went on break and forgot to look after the tank, which caused its explosion. From there, we didn't know what to do. We had booked a hotel room for the entire summer, where we would find a house near the end of August. It was a hassle getting me applied into a school, but I was able to start a week later in September. From there, things have been normal, until 2014-15. I would be in 7th grade, which I had chosen my friends over school. I will admit that I have done some idiotic things during that year, which resulted in bad grades (To prevent any confusion, the "2014-15" simply meant the year that I started 7th grade [2014] and the year that I would end 7th grade [2015], if it wasn't obvious enough). This includes several D's and F's, with the occasional C and rare B or B-. My parents were disappointed in me, but the real problem did not start then.

    I was committed to getting better grades in 8th grade, since that is the final year of middle school. It would also determine if I can go to a good high school. My grades had raised incredibly, where I would get A's and B's, with the occasional C thrown in the mix. My parents never showed exciting emotions, but they looked like they were proud. But after my graduation, things started to turn around. My parents had found me a summer job to participate in. They had told me about it and I had told them that I do not wish to do the job. I told them that I would find a job on my own terms, but they didn't care. They wanted me to believe that they wanted me to do the job so I can have that money to convenience, when it was only so that they wouldn't have to worry about my school supplies; I would have the ability to buy them on my own now. The job was presented to me in June and it would start on the 5th of July. I have had several feelings of depression. It wasn't a deep form of depression, but I would become angry out of no-where. Now we talk about my family.

    My father is a 42 year old Dominican entrepreneur who has his own barber shop. He works alongside his brother, who would then take over the business. My father had applied for Public Server (PSEG) and had gotten accepted. He was given the job of reading meters in the city of Cranford, which is an hour away from where I lived (I believe) Later, his foot would become damaged for a reason I know not. This has landed him in unemployment for about an entire year. One thing that I had seen in him is that he is very high-maintenance. He would lie in his bed watching TV or be on his computer working on graphic design for people who needed it. And whenever he needed something, big or small, he would call upon ME instead of anyone else. My room is 2 rooms away from my parents (a small hallway and the living room are in the middle.) I do not exaggerate when I say that he calls only on me. This has gotten me extremely mad because he would call my name consistently, without any regard as to what I may be doing at the moment. One can also compare this to a slave back in the day; he would be called by his master consistently and would be forced to do anything his master ordered him. What's more, I had told my dad in an angered tone that he treats me like a slave, and he simply ignored me and said "that's what you are". He is known for being a joker, but this joke has gone too far. He calls for literally ANYTHING. And he has called me for pretty obnoxious reasons too. This includes having me come in to turn off the light, close his door, and help him take off his shoes/socks(as disgusting as that sounds). I understand that he is dealing with foot pain, but he hasn't become immobile in any way, shape, or form.

    My mother is a 36 year old Puerto Rican pharmacist. She feels that she is the only one who brings in the income to pay for necessities like food, clothing, and the bills that come along with it all. This is also true. But she is a very bias person. When it comes to my two nark sisters, she always seems to take their side. When my 7 year old would bug me and I would respond, she would go to my mother and tell on me, whereas my mother would get mad at me without giving me the chance to defend myself.

    Like previously stated, my sisters are nark siblings. My 16 year old sister is a mainstream who does nothing but sit on the couch and listen to music. She is pretty abusive and will seek any way to use it without getting in trouble for it. She would resort to digging her nails in vital parts of the body, which includes the arms, back of hands, and vein section under the wrist. I am too scared to fight back; not in the sense that she threatens and intimidates me (in no way), but I feel that as a man I would hurt her terribly. I find myself as a neutral person, but I want to be more passive than hostile. Then comes in my little nark sister. She watches the cringe videos on YouTube involving, pardon me for my unprofessional language, the spoiled and rich white girls who have no proper etiquette and have incredibly terrible plots. This consists of different characters who are disobedient and what-not. She obviously looks up to said girls, so she acts like them. When my parents would give her an order, she would disrespect them by saying "no". Me and my older sister would joke with my parents like that by saying "no", then followed up by a "sike". But my younger sister blatantly says "no", as if she really has a say in the demand she is given. My parents have incredible patience with her and my older sister, whereas they have very little for me. One night, my sister had this creepy Baby-Alive bootleg doll. The eye color was incredibly bright, so I had went into their room and glanced at the doll while my sister was in there. I had said to myself in a quite whisper "Yeah, that thing is creepy." My sister overheard me and said "I'm telling!" She stomps over to my mother and tells her this statement "He came into my room and said 'wow, that baby is creepy and ugly". No where in my opinion did I say "ugly", but my gullible mother had believed it and had demanded that I go to my room.

    My family has led me to crying in my bed with the incredibly feeling of my heart sinking. I feel as if no one in my household is really here for me. Oddly, the only one I appreciate in my house is my pet dog named Princess. The only good quality is that she can't talk, so she is a good companion.
    But this has gone long too far. I just want to make sure I can do something about this. Sorry for this long thread, but I really need help.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Eligible to Sue Parents for Neglect

    You have posted nothing that will provide you with any recourse within the legal system.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    1,142

    Default Re: Eligible to Sue Parents for Neglect

    Speak to a counselor at your school. That would be a start. You may have a dysfunctional family, but that provides you with no legal right to sue your parents for the way they're treating you.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Eligible to Sue Parents for Neglect

    Frankly this is no different from a million other family situations.

    Parents are allowed to favor one child over the other/s. They're allowed to have one doing all of the chores while the others sit around playing computer games.

    Having said that, I'll concede that this is a passable scenario/storyline for an indie or school project movie. If you're wondering why I said that, think about it

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    3,212

    Default Re: Eligible to Sue Parents for Neglect

    Nothing to sue your parents over. If you were really being neglected or abused, a teacher or other staff at your school would have noticed the signs and called CPS.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: Eligible to Sue Parents for Neglect

    Quote Quoting Mercy&Grace
    View Post
    Nothing to sue your parents over. If you were really being neglected or abused, a teacher or other staff at your school would have noticed the signs and called CPS.
    I wish that were true. But the fact is that most child abuse and neglect is either not noticed by staff at school or if they notice it they nevertheless don’t call CPS about it. And in most cases no one else reports it, either. That is not to say that the OP is actually neglected or abused; I am just rebutting the idea that if a child is abused or neglected it is a certainty that someone would report it. The reverse is more likely to be true — the neglect and abuse goes unreported.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Parents for Neglect

    Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

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