Children, by virtue of their age, aren’t cognizant of everything that they do, nor do they appreciate the consequences of their actions. American law is based off British common law which in the past looked unfavorably upon children in cases that involved trespass. In 1870, our founding fathers changed these laws so that children would be looked at in a more compassionate manner in case they got injured at someone else’s property.
Premises Liability Law Basics
Anyone accessing a property for casual or business purposes is known as an invitee. According to the law, the property owner should ensure that there are no hazards or dangers which may pose a risk to the wellbeing of all invitees. This can include things like making sure that there is proper lighting during low light times of the day such as the early evening and late at night, cordoning off areas such as pools for the safety of children, fixing broken stairwells as well as malfunctioning elevators, putting up ‘danger’ signs in areas such as the electric fuse boxes and so on and so forth.
Children, on account of their age, are a curious bunch. It may be quite hard to control their actions, especially if they are left to their own devices, with no adult supervision. That being said, you can’t file an attractive nuisance lawsuit just because your child got injured; there are certain requirements that need to be met before anything goes forward.
Here are the things that you as the plaintiff must prove:
- The area that your child got injured must be in a place that the property owner knows or reasonably knows children trespass.
- The condition of the area is in such as state that the property owner knows or reasonably knows can injure or kill children that trespass.
- Injured children must be at an age which makes it impossible for them to understand that the object or state of the environment may kill or injure them should they get too close to interfere with it.
- The risk of children getting injured or killed should be larger than the effort it would take for the property owner to fix and secure the location or object within their property.
Get Legal Help Today!
Each case is different, and courts will get to decide what constitutes reasonable care. Injuries on someone else’s property will change your child’s life permanently. If you want to secure maximum compensation for your loved one, the trespass law firm you should work with is us. Please call us today on 877-561-3004 for more information. Thanks for choosing us, and we look forward to hearing from you.