Peterson v. Taylor

David and his sister, Molly, are returning from a neighbor’s home after playing. The two stopped at the Taylors’ house, hoping to play with Greg, but soon discovering Greg was not home. David began gathering twigs to start a fire upon a concrete slab in the Taylors’ backyard. Initially, David attempted to use matches, which he had obtained earlier from his uncle, but was unable to start a fire. He instead went to the Taylor shed to retrieve a can of gasoline, which he used to successfully start a fire. After it went out, David went to the shed again for a second can of gasoline. There is dispute regarding how the second fire started, but it resulted in David’s pants catching on fire and him rolling on the ground in an attempt to put out the flame. David suffered serious burn injuries as a result of the fire.

During trial, Plaintiff called an expert witness who testified David was of average intellect and slightly hyperactive, making him somewhat more likely to play with fire than the average child. He further testified David probably did not know a gasoline fire could not be put out with water; however, he almost certainly did know he could get burned by playing with matches and fire,