Seeing someone get hurt is bad enough. But even if you rush to help them, if the injury happens on your property, you may be liable. If the person’s loved ones are getting ready to sue you for everything that you have, suddenly, it’s your financial survival at stake here, too.
This is what happened to one person who turned to the internet for legal advice after finding themselves in a nightmare situation. They shared how a local kid got badly injured while horsing around in their front yard. Their parents, furious at what happened, decided to take the neighbor to court. Scroll down for the full story and an important update from the author.
It’s utterly horrible to see someone from your neighborhood get hurt. But when this happens in your yard, you might find yourself summoned to court
Image credits: seventyfourimages (not the actual photo)
A person asked for advice after their neighbors sued them. The couple’s child trespassed and got badly injured
Image credits: Bamboozleddicotomy (not the actual photo)
Image credits: zener0n
Some readers shared practical advice with the distraught author
A lot depends on your local laws. If you fail to maintain your property, and someone gets hurt, you are opening yourself up to legal liability
Whether or not you are liable for someone’s child getting hurt on your property depends on your national and state laws, as well as the specific circumstances of the event. There are no easy answers here.
For example, FindLaw notes that you may potentially be exposed to liability if you are a property owner or renter and have been negligent in maintaining the property.
What’s more, you may also be liable if your property contains so-called ‘attractive nuisances’ (e.g., swimming pools, trampolines, construction sites, etc.), or have agreed to babysit someone or to supervise a playdate.
“For instance, if a guest in your home slips and falls on a wet floor, or a hole in the stairs, that you did not warn them about, and they’re injured, they may have an injury claim against you. This is true regardless of a guest’s age. However, not every injury leads to liability,” FindLaw states.
“When children are playing on your property, under your supervision, and one is injured, you could also be held liable under a theory of negligent supervision. Generally, when a parent/person agrees to allow children to gather at their home, they are accepting the responsibility of keeping them safe. When children trespass, liability may not be as cut and dry.”
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As a landowner, you may be liable for any injuries to trespassing kids if you have things like pools or trampolines on your property, and you fail to secure them
Meanwhile, you might expose yourself to legal liability if you don’t take enough action to prevent kids from trespassing on your property to use the ‘attractive nuisances’ on your property that they’re curious about.
Of course, you have to remember that everything depends on your local and state laws.
A&S Personal Injury Lawyers explains that you may be liable as a landowner if an injury is caused by “a dangerous situation that was likely to attract children who, because of their age, could not appreciate the risk that the condition posed—regardless of the fact that they were trespassing when they were injured.”
For instance, if you have a swimming pool in your yard, you must properly enclose it, and take proper steps to secure it.
“Just because a child is injured by an attractive nuisance on someone else’s property, does not necessarily mean that the doctrine applies. For example, if a landowner constructs a 6-foot fence around their pool and locks the gate, but a child climbs over the fence and falls into the pool, the landowner would likely not be held liable as their efforts to keep children out of the pool were reasonable.”
What are your thoughts? How would you react if a neighbor’s child got injured after trespassing in your yard? What would you do if their parents then took you to court? Have you ever had any major problems with your neighbors? Share your thoughts and experiences below.
Image credits: Max Vakhtbovycn (not the actual photo)
Later, the person shared what happened in court. The injured child’s parents were furious at the outcome
Image credits: AnnaStills (not the actual photo)
Image credits: zener0n
Here’s how the internet reacted when they read the second chapter of the story
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