Video Summary
What happens if an unwanted guest or a trespasser is injured on my property? Am I liable? Well before you’re liable to anyone, whether they’re an invited guest or not, they have to show that you were negligent. And so if you maintain your property, I take it this is in the context of an improved residential piece of property, we have to show you were negligent in not maintaining the property which is usually not a particular problem in this area. Usually the problems with property are concerned is like with stairways as far as tenants or invited guests for that matter, or tenants if you’re negligent in maintaining your property.
If you have vacant property, there is some liability if there’s what they call an attractive nuisance in the property. Such as water, large sand piles, things like that where you attract children that may go there. You cannot set up say barbed wire to keep the motorcycles out or whatever, and put it about chin high so when the motorcycle goes through that they may be hurt in that manner. But otherwise if you just have a vacant piece of property, somebody goes out there, and steps in a hole or whatever, you don’t have liability as far as owning the property just because they’re injured. The injured person must show that you were negligent in maintaining your property, and so you don’t have liability just because someone gets hurt.
I don’t do a lot of personal injury cases, but that’s my understanding of the law. If you have any questions about it, well give me a call at 847-2288 and I can refer you to another attorney. You may wish to obtain an umbrella policy on your homeowner’s insurance to protect you against any unwanted lawsuits that may come your way, as a result of owning property. Thank you.