Pennsylvania homeowners can upgrade their property with many different types of amenities. While you may be thinking about all the fun memories you’re going to make with amenities like a swimming pool or fish pond, it’s important to consider the liability that they bring upon your property. When you can identify the different liabilities that your property has, you can work to mitigate the risk.
What are attractive nuisances?
Amenities that are overly attractive to young children can open up a whole world of premises liability for a homeowner. Since children are deemed unfit to make their own decisions regarding their safety, any time they enter your property and get injured on an amenity that you have, you could be liable for their injuries. It’s important that you take the necessary steps to prevent children from being harmed on your property.
Attractive nuisances are simply defined as anything on a property that attracts children from the outside and exposes them to potential danger. Some common examples of attractive nuisances include water features, play sets, riding mowers and trampolines. It’s a good idea to sit down and look at your entire property to determine what could potentially be dangerous for young children.
Protecting yourself from liability
One of the best things that you can do to help mitigate your risk of being liable for an accident is to take reasonable precautions. Consider constructing a fence to block in the attractive nuisance so that children cannot readily get to it. If possible, try to put these amenities away in a safe location when you’re not using them.
As a homeowner, you can be liable for any injuries that happen to children who come onto your property due to an attractive nuisance. It’s your responsibility to use reasonable care surrounding the attractive nuisance to ensure that children do not get injured. It’s a good idea to contact an attorney to understand what sort of risks may potentially be lurking at your property.