Attractive Nuisance — Definition and Explanation of Law

What is Attractive Nuisance Legal Definition

Attractive nuisance is a legal doctrine that comes primarily from tort law, whereby individuals who own property are liable to children who trespass on the land because of some dangerous condition or object that they found to be attractive or enticing. This doctrine is based on the notion that children are naturally curious and, because they do not fully appreciate risk may gravitate toward dangerous situations. That is why the law holds property owners responsible for taking reasonable efforts to protect children from these hazardous characteristics of their property.

The attractive nuisance doctrine is an idea that tries to strike a balance between the rights of property owners and the need to protect children (and in some cases even animals, such as cats) from dangerous conditions. The doctrine covers not just physical characteristics, but actions or things that could draw children into dangerous situations.

Legal Definition from Black's Law Dictionary

According to Black's Law Dictionary, an attractive nuisance is defined as a hazardous condition or object located on real property that may attract children to the premises and cause injury. In this usage, the dictionary states that property owners "may be liable for injuries" to children on their land by features that are unreasonable or dangerous and which may attract a child's curiosity or play.

The definition is rooted in a public policy principle that children lack the maturity to identify and avoid potential risks that an adult or someone older could have recognized as dangerous. As a result, the law imposes an extra duty on property owners to protect against these kinds of hazard.

Essential Components of Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

In order to lay claim to the attractive nuisance doctrine, a few essential elements usually have to be established:

Hazardous Feature, Condition or Object: There must be a feature, condition, or object present on the property that is dangerous by its nature. These can be misfits like derelict buildings, pools, machineries or even hazardous animals which could threaten the children of nearby.

Potential to Attract Children: The condition or thing must be able to draw kids in. That is, an abandoned building, a well or pond, or a playground without proper supervision might be considered to have attractive senders because children will tend to find them so.

Child not knowing: The child has to be young enough or at such a developmental stage that he/she doesn’t understand the inherent danger associated with the object or condition, hence it is more likely that he/she will get attracted towards it.

The property owner should not have taken reasonable precautions to prevent children from coming into contact with the dangerous condition. For instance, if a backyard pool was not adequately fenced in or machinery left unattended.

Foreseeable harm: The property owner should have reasonably foreseen that children may be attracted to the inherent risk of the condition and trespass, leading to an event that will cause injury.

The legal application and practical examples

The attractive nuisance doctrine is a legal principle applied when children trespass on to another’s property, and child is injured by some dangerous condition. For instance, if a swimming pool on private property is not secured and a child enters the pool area and gets hurt then liability can be assumed as this man-made feature is attractive to children (an attractive nuisance). The property owner could also be held liable if he or she has failed to take reasonable steps to either secure the pool or alert children of its dangers.

Other examples include:

Negligence involving abandoned buildings: Suppose a child slips into an abandoned building located on the property and gets hurt due to poor conditions, such as debris or broken glass littering the ground. In that case, the property owner might be liable for negligence.

Farm equipment or machinery: If a kid is hurt by farm machinery, and that machine has not been securely attached and cleared away from kids, the home owner may be liable for allowing access to such harmful devices.

Open wells or ponds: If a child is hurt by falling into an unmarked, unsecured well or pond, for instance, the property owner could be held responsible for failing to secure the area.

Limitations and Defenses

Though the attractive nuisance doctrine provides protection for children, there are limitations and defenses available to property owners. Common defenses to an attractive nuisance claim include:

Child age or intelligence: The doctrine may not_ apply if the child was older or intelligent enough to avoid harm caused by that condition of the property.

Trespassing — if the child was on the property illegally and without knowledge of the property owner, then depending on state law, that would likely provide a defense to liability under the doctrine.

Lack of Foreseeability: The property owner will have a defense to liability if they could not reasonably foreseen that children would be attracted to the dangerous condition.