Premises Liability and Attractive Nuisance

Feb. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- “Generally speaking, premises liability means that it is the responsibility of a property owner to keep their land, building, etc., reasonably safe and to also advise any visitors if there are dangers on the property. If someone chooses to go ahead and trespass on a property, meaning they were not invited on the land and no one expected them, then the owner has no obligation to make sure they are safe or to even offer any kind of a warning, though the owner has an obligation not to willfully harm them,” Brooks Schuelke of Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP, Austin personal injury attorneys advised.

How premises liability law is handled when it comes to trespassing children is slightly different. In most instances, when a little one strays onto someone’s land, they aren’t doing it on purpose. “Frequently they don’t even know what they are doing and they are definitely not there to intentionally cause any harm,” added Schuelke.

Typically, a child goes into a place because something there has captured their attention; a tree house, new puppy, new baby, slides and monkey bars, or a swimming pool. If the kids don’t have any supervision, they may be harmed on that property. In some cases, even though the child may have been trespassing, the property owner is still liable for any injuries the child sustains.

“The law says that a property owner has to take reasonable actions to protect kids from being harmed on their land. To do this, they must get rid of a potential danger or protect the child in some other manner. This particular canon is referred to as the “attractive nuisance” doctrine, mainly because some potentially deadly dangers are very appealing to kids who don’t know any better,” commented Schuelke. This doctrine also only applies to artificial structures, not natural ones. For instance, if a little one is hurt falling out of a tree on another person’s property, it’s not likely the property owner is liable.

What this all boils down to is that if a pool is on the property, it must be locked down tightly and gated to keep a child from drowning. If there is a slide or other really attractive playground equipment, there must be a fence erected to keep kids from accessing it. In other words, do what’s right for the kids to keep them safe, since they don’t know any better themselves.

“While this area of the law is not all that clear, a good Austin personal injury attorney will be able to explain what rights are applicable in situations such as this,” outlined Brooks Schuelke of Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP, Austin personal injury attorneys.