Understanding the attractive nuisance doctrine

Homeowners need to understand the attractive nuisance doctrine and what it means for their obligations to keep people safe. This may apply in ways that they don’t expect, leaving them open to liability.

For example, say that a homeowner has a backyard pool. While they’re away, one of the neighborhood children wanders into their backyard, falls into the pool, and passes away. The homeowner may claim that they weren’t responsible because they never invited the child onto the property, and they even had “No Trespassing” signs up telling people to stay away, making the child a trespasser. But the reality is that they could still certainly be liable in a wrongful death suit.

What is an attractive nuisance?

The first thing to understand is that an attractive nuisance is something that is both hazardous and enticing to children. Because of the potential for children to approach this on their own, homeowners have to take extra steps to prevent injury. A child doesn’t understand if they’re trespassing or where the property lines are. They may not even be able to read a “No Trespassing” sign.

For a backyard pool, Connecticut already has laws on the books requiring homeowners to have a fence. It generally needs to be about 4 feet tall, and it needs to have a self-locking gate. Homeowners can use part of a building as one wall of the fence, but then they need to put alarms on the windows.

If a homeowner breaks these regulations, leading to a tragic accident, then they may be responsible—even though the child was trespassing at the time.

Seeking appropriate compensation

If you have suffered injuries or a family member has passed away, you may deserve financial compensation for medical bills and other costs. Be sure you know exactly how the law applies and what legal steps to take.