Under Kentucky law, all property owners have a duty of care to maintain safe, well-maintained premises that do not pose a danger to visitors. This duty of care encompasses:
- Fixing known dangers within a reasonable amount of time
- Conducting regular walkthroughs of properties to check for potential hazards
- Performing regular maintenance to prevent hazardous conditions from forming
- Placing signs or warnings that alert visitors of hazards that have yet to be fixed
These are the duties that a property owner owes to visitors. Visitors fall into three categories:
- Invitees – An invitee is a person that a property owner invites, encourages, or leads to visit their premises for a lawful purpose. An invitee might be a friend invited for drinks, a customer visiting a store, or a delivery worker dropping off a package.
- Licensees – A licensee is a person who visits a property for their own purposes rather than for the benefit of the owner. An individual popping into a store to use the restroom rather than shop or a utility worker accessing a main line on your property may be a licensee.
- Trespassers – A trespasser is a person who does not have a legal right to be on the premises, such as a burglar.
Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees and licensees. Outside of extenuating circumstances, a trespasser cannot collect compensation for injuries they suffered when they did not have the property owner’s permission to be there.
However, a trespasser may be able to file a claim if they can prove that the property owner intended to hurt them or cause them harm. A property owner is not allowed to set a trap that would intentionally cause injury, even to a trespasser.
Attractive Nuisances
Special rules apply to premises liability cases when children are involved. The attractive nuisance doctrine allows parents to seek compensation for a property owner’s negligence even if their child was trespassing at the time of their injury.
An attractive nuisance is any dangerous thing that may attract the attention of a child, including:
- Swimming pools
- Water fountains
- Backyard playground equipment, including trampolines
- Tree houses
- Construction or landscaping materials
- Unattended ladders
This doctrine acknowledges the natural curious nature of children. Even when they are not supposed to be on another’s property, young children do not have the reasoning capabilities to distinguish between premises that are safe and those that are dangerous. It is the responsibility of every property owner in Lexington, KY to protect children from being harmed by an attractive nuisance that could potentially cause them to suffer serious or even fatal injuries.
Placing fences with secure, childproof gates around attractive nuisances is one of the most effective ways to prevent children from accessing areas that could cause them harm. If a property owner knew that there was an attractive nuisance on their property but failed to take action to deter children, they could be held liable for their negligence.