Under Alabama law, property owners have no duty of care toward trespassers and are only prohibited from intentionally harming unwelcome visitors. However, the law makes an exception for children, who are often attracted to swimming pools, trampolines, and other features which are inherently hazardous. If your child wandered onto someone else’s property and was hurt because of an attractive nuisance, a personal injury lawyer may be able to collect compensation for their damages.

What Is an Attractive Nuisance?

An attractive nuisance is generally any artificially constructed feature of the property that would be appealing to children and poses an inherent risk. Swimming pools and tire swings are among the most common examples, but abandoned buildings, unused equipment, and construction sites may also qualify. However, natural features are usually not considered attractive nuisances, unless some modifications have to made to make them more accessible.

When Is a Property Owner Liable?

While property owners cannot be held responsible for accidents no one could have predicted, your personal injury lawyer may file a suit if they should have known that children would stray onto the premises. For instance, if they did not have a fence and a child-proof gate surrounding their swimming pool or lock the door on a vacant building, they may be liable for any injuries. To succeed, your attorney will also have to show that any reasonable person could have understood the risks, and the cost of taking safety precautions was not prohibitive. These rules also apply only to very young children incapable of understanding the concept of “trespassing,” so teenagers may not be able to recover damages if they did not have permission to be on the property.
 

If your child has been hurt because of unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, let the personal injury lawyers at Lee, Livingston, Lee, Nichols & Barron, P.C. protect your rights. For over a century, they’ve been providing quality legal representation to victims throughout the state of Alabama, and have the resources to ensure the liable parties are held accountable. Visit their website for more on their personal injury expertise, follow their Facebook for more legal tips, or call (334) 792-4156 to arrange your free initial consultation with a preeminent personal injury lawyer.