Could You Have an Attractive Nuisance on Your Property?
You hold a lot of responsibility for ensuring that your property is a safe place for visitors. Sometimes, though, you may have a situation on your property that invites curious children and leads to serious liability for you.
Attractive Nuisance Defined
Nationwide explains that something hazardous on your property that would attract the attention of a child and that poses a risk to the child is an attractive nuisance. A common example is a swimming pool. Children love swimming pools, so if they can easily access it, there is a chance a child would wander into your yard, get into the pool, and drown.
Children do not understand the danger of an attractive nuisance. All they see is something fun or interesting that they want to get a closer look at. It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that children cannot get to the nuisance.
Elements
The elements required by law to show negligence in an attractive nuisance case include that you need to have had something potentially dangerous on your property that you put there or maintained. You should have known it would attract children and that it would be likely to cause them injury.
Avoid a Lawsuit
If you find yourself facing a lawsuit, then you will need a premises liability lawyer Orlando. However, it’s best to avoid this situation by taking action to remove the attractive nuisance or prevent access to it.
The most common way to do this is to put up a fence. You must ensure that children cannot get into the fence in any way. Keep in mind that even if a child trespasses, you still are liable because the law does not apply to children under the age of seven in most cases.
The Bottom Line
Having an attractive nuisance on your property is a huge liability. It is very difficult to fight this type of case in court because laws are vague and leave a lot up to the judge. Your best bet is to make sure that you secure your property so that no child can easily wander in.
