12

My wife and I have been building a playhouse for our kids on the backyard. Our neighbor keeps telling my wife that we must put up a fence and/or get lots of insurance because if her son gets hurt in our playhouse, we're liable.

My question: if we don't invite her son into our yard/playhouse, and he finds his way there, and gets hurt, are we actually liable for that?

My intuition is that we're not. Example: if I jump into my neighbor's yard uninvitedly, and her dog bites me, they are not liable for this incident. However, if their dog breaks into my house and bites me, then they are responsible for it.

rodrigo-silveira
  • 223
  • 1
  • 6

1 Answers1

21

You can start here, with the attractive nuisance doctrine, which is aimed at children and the fact that they don't have adult common sense. The extent to which you are at risk depends on your jurisdiction. However, a fence does not necessarily protect you, because children can find a way to get around a fence, instead you need to eliminate the risk (so you also have to identify the risk). This article reviews some of the outcomes in attractive nuisance cases: there is no simple rule like "put up a fence and you're safe". Insurance is more predictable, as long as you read the fine print.

user6726
  • 217,973
  • 11
  • 354
  • 589