In Kyiv region, a child ate rat poison – court exempted the mother from liability

The Vyshhorod District Court closed the proceedings regarding the mother who called an ambulance after the child took rat poison.

Case circumstances

According to the case materials, a protocol on an administrative offense was drawn up at the mother's residence with her minor son, according to which the mother evaded the fulfillment of parental duties. The protocol states that the minor son ate rat poison that was stored in an accessible place, which could have harmed the child's health.

In the court session, the mother explained that she lives with her minor son and the child's father in a house where all proper conditions for raising and resting the child are created, including a separate room for him. She was at home with her son, briefly got distracted and went to another room. Upon returning, she saw the child playing with the poisonous rat poison. She did not notice any signs of poison ingestion but, for safety reasons, immediately called the emergency medical team. The mother claimed that she acted in good faith and without delay, solely in the child's interest, without any intent or negligence in fulfilling parental duties. She performs her parental duties fully, provides the child with proper living conditions, nutrition, and pays sufficient attention to him.

The explanations provided by the mother in court are supported by her written statements and an extract from the outpatient (inpatient) medical record. According to the extract, the child was in the regional children's hospital where gastric lavage was performed. The child's condition remained stable during this period, no signs of poisoning were found, and then the child was discharged home.

Court decision

The Vyshhorod District Court of Kyiv region reviewed case materials No. 363/602/26 and ruled: to close the proceedings regarding the mother under Part 1 of Article 184 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses due to the absence of an administrative offense in her actions.

The court noted that according to Article 150 of the Family Code of Ukraine, parents are obliged to raise the child in the spirit of respect for the rights and freedoms of others, love for their family, people, and homeland, care for the child's health, physical, spiritual, and moral development, ensure complete general secondary education, and prepare the child for independent life.

At the same time, based on the case materials, the court found no objective data indicating the mother's evasion from parental duties or improper provision of living and upbringing conditions for the minor child. On the contrary, it was established that after discovering the potential danger to the son's health, the mother acted in good faith, promptly and timely sought medical help, and took all possible measures to prevent harm to the child's health.

The court emphasized that the inspection report of the child's living and upbringing conditions was not attached to the case materials, the living conditions were not inspected, and the conclusion in the protocol about the accessibility of the poison is an assumption. The very fact that the mother sought medical help under such circumstances cannot be a basis for concluding that she failed to fulfill her parental duties.

The court concluded that the materials collected in the case are not grounds for holding the person administratively liable.

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