What is an Attractive Nuisance?
An attractive nuisance involves placing a special responsibility on property owners who have items that can draw in the attention of children and potentially cause them harm. Since children are not yet developed as adults, property owners are given this duty of care to ensure that the exploitative traits of youth don’t result in their harm.
There are three main components of the attractive nuisance doctrine that you should be aware of. First, children are seen as not being able to fully comprehend the dangers that they may face. Second, if a property owner has a reason to reasonably believe that children will come onto their property, they have a special responsibility to protect them from harm. Third, if the property owner doesn’t meet their special responsibility, they can be held liable for a child’s injuries. Your swimming pool accident lawyer should be able to give you an in-depth explanation of these three components if you find them difficult to grasp.
What Can Be Considered An Attractive Nuisance?
Attractive nuisances are defined as things that are so interesting that they actually entice children to enter one’s property. This is a broad definition because this term can be applied to so many different items. Your local court will be using reasonable discretion when determining what is considered an attractive nuisance.
- Machinery
- Dangerous animals
- Stairs/pathways
- Tunnels
- Wells
- Swimming pools
- Fountains
- Hot tubs
As a Los Angeles Swimming Pool Accident Attorney would inform you, this doctrine was established to help protect children from harm. There is no black and white age when it comes to this doctrine. Any person under the age of 18 can be covered under this doctrine. The best way to protect yourself from being sued for injuries is to take the necessary precautions to prevent them. It’s important to note that the court understands that you can’t completely childproof your whole property. Rather, you should be taking some basic steps to prevent potential injuries. Your Los Angeles personal injury attorney can help you to assess your property and come up with preventative solutions to ensure you’re legally protected.