Some of you may have heard the words “attractive nuisance” and some of you may not. It’s a legal doctrine that means that the landowner (homeowner) may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on their land if the injury is caused by a hazardous object or condition on the property that is likely to attract children who are unable to appreciate the risk posed by the object or condition.
Yes, you can be liable even when children are trespassing on your property!!
This doctrine has been applied to hold land/homeowners liable for injuries caused by, for example, abandoned cars, piles of lumber or sand, trampolines and swimming pools. Since children just see things that interest them and don’t realize that they can cause harm, they go investigating. I’ve read stories of children dying after crawling in freezers on a back porch; many children have drowned in pools; kids have died after playing on items you have placed outside for garbage pick-up; children have been permanently disabled from hitting their head on the metal rim of a trampoline.
Some landowners thought putting up a warning sign would work but if children cannot read the sign, the landowner would be liable.
According to the “Restatement of Torts” there are often several conditions that must be met for the homeowner to be liable to a child trespasser as a result of artificial hazards (if the hazard is a natural stream in your back yard, that is not artificial):
1) The place where the condition exists is one on which the possessor knows or has reason to know that children are likely to trespass, and
2) The condition is one which the possessor knows or should realize will involve an unreasonable risk or death or serious bodily harm,
3) The utility to the possessor of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight as compared with the risk to children (e.g., move your freezer inside)
4) The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise to protect the children.
All this legalese boils down to the fact that we, as homeowners, have a duty to keep our property in a safe condition to protect young trespassers. If we have something that “lures” children, we need to make changes because children don’t appreciate the danger and can be at risk. Attractive nuisances are typically not natural land conditions such as a stream or pond, but rather conditions created by someone.
What can you do?
If you have a pool, it had to be fenced to get a permit. But what if the locking gate is broken – this is something you can’t wait to fix until you get “around to it” one day. Before that one day, some child may walk into your back yard and drown.
If you have any appliances to be picked up, remove the doors or dismantle the appliance before placing them on the curb.
Do not leave power tools unattended. If you are working outside or in your garage and take a break, make sure they are inoperable for a child. If you have a riding lawnmower, ATV, etc., always take the keys with you.
Construction debris/equipment is an attractive nuisance – kids want to play on a pile of bricks or lumber. Keep it in a dumpster or put a tarp over it – anything to keep it from looking appealing.
Teenage children are likely to find a liquor cabinet very attractive – the last thing you need is for an adolescent to drive after drinking at your house – even if you didn’t know it.
The list goes on and on…look around your property with the eyes of a 5-year-old and see if anything looks “fun”. If it does, make changes. The consequences of not doing something simple may well lead to a legal issue that is very complicated.
Since Attractive Nuisance claims usually become a legal issue, most of the cites for this information will take you to legal pages (yuk!). But for those who want to, here are a few cites for you to investigate:
The bottom line:
You are ultimately responsible for everything on your property. If it may not be safe for children, take precautions and safe guard it.