As parents, it can be hard to navigate managing your child’s innate curiosity about the world. Though you want to protect them, it’s also important to let them explore. However, when your child wanders off and is injured by an attractive nuisance on someone’s property, you may not know how to proceed. If the property owner did not take steps to reduce the risk of harm, legal action may be necessary. Keep reading to learn more about these hazards and how a Broward County personal injury attorney can assist you through this process.
What Is an Attractive Nuisance?
When you have fixtures on your property that could cause injury, you will not face legal action if a trespasser is injured as a result. However, when this trespasser is a child, the law operates differently. In Florida and most other states, minors receive additional protections under the law.
In Florida, an attractive nuisance is often a man-made object that children are enticed by without understanding the implicit safety concerns of unsupervised interaction with the fixture. As such, property owners have a duty to implement safety measures on their property when there is a reasonable expectation that a child could wander onto their property.
Attractive nuisances include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Swimming pools
- Trampolines
- Abandoned vehicles
- Broken appliances
- Lawn mowers
- Power tools
- Treehouses
- Fountains
If a property owner has these fixtures on their land and there is a reasonable expectation that a child could enter the property, steps must be taken to reduce the risk of harm. This includes putting up fencing or locking the equipment away.
If My Child Is Injured, Can I Pursue Legal Action Against the Property Owner?
If your child is hurt because of a property owner’s negligence, you can take steps to hold the person responsible. The first step you can take is to immediately seek medical treatment for your child. Not only does this help ensure their health and well-being, but it also illustrates that you took the steps necessary to mitigate damages related to their injuries.
Another thing you should do is photograph the scene of the accident. This can help illustrate the lack of safety measures in place. Photos can provide proof of the unsafe conditions surrounding the fixture.
Finally, you’ll want to contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Children are curious by nature and often do not have the ability to understand the danger involved with specific hazards due to their age. An attorney can help you fight for the justice your child deserves at the hands of a negligent property owner.
When you’ve experienced damages due to another party’s failure to implement standard safety measures, the Finizio Law Group can help. Our dedicated legal team will fight for the justice you and your child deserve. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you through these challenging times.
