Mom Demands Neighbor Pay Her Son’s Medical Bills After The 8-Year-Old Climbed A Fence And Fell In His Expensive Koi Pond
An eight-year-old should be old enough to know not to wander into his neighbor's fenced-in backyard.
SimoneN | Shutterstock The phrase “kids will be kids” is used pretty often to excuse the actions of youngsters who just don’t know any better. One mom used this excuse often to justify her son’s actions.
Even after he fell into and damaged their neighbor’s expensive koi pond, she still insisted that he did nothing wrong.
One man’s beloved koi pond was almost destroyed by his eight-year-old neighbor.
A man took to Reddit to share the story of his prized koi pond and how it was damaged by his eight-year-old neighbor.
“I … have a koi pond in my backyard,” he explained. “It’s not just any koi pond — it’s a full-blown, professionally designed Japanese garden with a bridge, waterfalls and koi that cost more than my car (I’m talking $1,000 for a single fish).”
Lindsay Guido | Canva Pro
The neighbor told the mom on numerous occasions that her son was trespassing in his yard.
“Maintaining this pond is my pride and joy,” he continued. “I’ve put years into this hobby, and my yard is securely fenced with ‘No Trespassing’ signs everywhere.”
“Enter my neighbor, ‘Karen’ (fake name, but fitting),” he stated. “Karen has a son, let’s call him Timmy … who is notorious for wandering into other people’s yards uninvited. I’ve talked to Karen multiple times about this, but she just brushes it off with, ‘Kids will be kids.’”
Even though “kids will be kids,” Karen should have been keeping a closer eye on her son.
“Last week, while I was out running errands, I got a frantic call from Karen,” he shared. “Apparently, Timmy climbed over my fence to ‘feed the fish’ (even though I have explicitly told him to stay out). In doing so, he slipped, fell into the pond and destroyed part of my carefully maintained ecosystem.”
He went on to say, “Several of my prized koi died due to stress, and the filtration system was damaged because of the debris Timmy kicked in.”
While the boy didn’t sustain any serious injuries, his mom still insisted that their neighbor pay for his medical bills.
“Luckily, Timmy wasn’t seriously hurt — just a few scrapes — but Karen has been demanding I pay for his medical bills,” the neighbor said. “She claims my pond is an ‘attractive nuisance’ and that I should’ve had a cover or something to prevent kids from falling in.”
This seems like a strange statement, given that the koi pond was located in the man’s private backyard, and he told Karen as much.
“I argued that, one, it’s a private, fenced property, and, two, her son had no business being there in the first place,” he said.
Amar Preciado | Pexels
Now, Karen is attempting to destroy his reputation.
“When I refused to pay, Karen lost it and started badmouthing me to the whole neighborhood, calling me ‘heartless’ and a ‘terrible person,’” he shared.
This neighbor, on the other hand, isn’t taking this situation lying down.
He said, “I’ve since filed a lawsuit against her for the cost of the koi, the damage to my filtration system and repairs to my pond — over $5,000 in total.”
This neighbor is perfectly within his rights to file a lawsuit.
While Timmy is just a kid, he’s one that’s old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, and to understand that he shouldn’t wander into his neighbor’s backyard.
It also seems a bit strange that Karen demanded their neighbor pay Timmy’s medical bills if he wasn’t seriously injured and really got away with “just a few scrapes.”
pavla | Shutterstock
Regardless, the neighbor has the right to sue Karen for the cost of the damages to the pond.
According to attorney Larry A. Tawwater, “If your neighbor has caused costly damage to your property and is uncooperative about making the necessary repairs, you may be entitled to sue your neighbor to recover compensation for damages to your property.”
Based on this information, it would be perfectly reasonable for the neighbor to sue Karen. And, really, she should be held accountable for what her son did.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.