Child's Lawsuit Against His Grandparents for Lawn-Mower Injury

In Gulledge v. Gulledge, 51 Ill. App. 3d 972, 973, 367 N.E.2d 429, 10 Ill. Dec. 41 (1977), the plaintiff child suffered an injury when he fell under a riding lawnmower being operated by his 13-year-old sister while both were visiting their grandparents' residence. Gulledge, 51 Ill. App. 3d at 973. The child sued his grandparents for ordinary negligence, and the grandparents moved to dismiss the case based on the doctrines of parental immunity and in loco parentis. Gulledge, 51 Ill. App. 3d at 973. The trial court granted the motion, and the appellate court granted the child's application for interlocutory appeal in order to determine whether the grandparents enjoyed parental immunity. Gulledge, 51 Ill. App. 3d at 973-74. Gulledge does not deal with the duty of a child care provider to prevent a child from engaging in risky activities; it instead deals solely with the question of whether grandparents/caretakers enjoy parental immunity.