What Are the Most Common Attractive Nuisances?
Every day, ten people die in an unintentional drowning. Twenty percent of these deaths are children 14 or younger. Most drownings among children happen in a home swimming pool.
The sad reality is that these tragic accidents – among many others – can be prevented. In fact, the law expects you to protect children from drownings and other accidents if you have what’s called an “attractive nuisance” on your property.
What is an attractive nuisance? Keep reading to learn more about attractive nuisances and what an accident can mean for you.
What is an Attractive Nuisance?
An attractive nuisance is a point on your property that is a draw for children but could cause them harm when left unattended. It’s a law that covers a child injured on another property (i.e., a property away from their home).
Why do these exist? The attractive nuisance doctrine requires you to take responsibility to protect children who are either visitors to your property or who live nearby. These special protections exist because the law recognizes that children don’t fully understand the dangers these attractive nuisances present to them.
What are the Most Common Attractive Nuisances?
What does an attractive nuisance look like? It’s anything a child might want to play on or around or even explore.
The most frequently cited example is a swimming pool. Kids love to swim, and they get very excited when they see you have a swimming pool. However, they don’t understand the risks of swimming unattended. So, it’s up to you to protect them, if you want to have a pool.
You may not think of the risk of drowning when you install one. However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that among studied drownings among young children (under 4), 70% of the cases occurred when the child was not expected to be at the pool. In almost half the cases, the child was last seen in the house.
Other attractive nuisances include:
- Treehouses
- Trampolines
- Man-made water features (fountains, fish ponds, etc.)
- Dangerous animals
- Machinery or tools
- Scaffolding
- Paths and stairs
Even features of your house, like your rooftop, can be an attractive nuisance if its easily accessible, and local children are known to climb on roofs.
What Do You Need to Do if YOu Have an Attractive Nuisance?
If you have an attractive nuisance, you need to prevent access to it. If you don’t and an accident occurs, you will likely need an attorney, as you can be held liable.
Preventing access could mean building a fence around the pool, keeping dangerous animals kept in cages, and putting anti-climbing measures on scaffolding or roofs.
In cases where your property is full of attractive nuisances, you may also find it beneficial to take out insurance that covers you in case of a tragic accident.
Protect Kids who Can’t Protect Themselves
You may love your pool, treehouse, and architectural feature, but you must also recognize that kids love these things, too. And kids don’t appreciate how dangerous they can be. That’s why pools, trampolines, and treehouses are called attractive nuisances.
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