Premises liability is the responsibility shared by all property owners to ensure a reasonably safe environment for their guests. In most cases, this obligation only extends to people who have been invited onto the property for social or business reasons. However, there are circumstances in which a property owner may be responsible for injuries suffered by child trespassers, according to a legal policy know as the attractive nuisance doctrine.
This doctrine applies when a person has something on his or her property that they should know is both attractive and dangerous to children. It is his or her responsibility to prevent children in the neighborhood from accessing this danger. If your child has been harmed by a negligent member of the community who did not secure his or her property, call your Iowa child injury lawyers at LaMarca Law Group, P.C. at (515) 705-0233.
What are Grounds for an Attractive Nuisance Claim?
Many things that pose no risk to responsible adults can be very dangerous to unsupervised children, including swimming pools, trampolines, heavy machinery, and so on. If your child has been harmed by such an item on another person’s property, you may have grounds for legal option if all of the following apply:
- Your child is too young to make reasonable choices about his or her own safety.
- The property owner should have known that children could access the item.
- The property owner failed to take reasonable steps to protect children in the community.
The courts will use your child’s age and information about his or her maturity level to determine if he or she is mature enough to be responsible for his or her injuries. Our Iowa attractive nuisance attorneys can provide further information about the details of the law and how they apply to your case.
Contact Us
Your Iowa lawyers at LaMarca Law Group, P.C. work hard for our clients. If you or your child has suffered an injury caused by another party’s negligence, contact us at (515) 705-0233.