Pools and Ponds Can Be Attractive Nuisances

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss topics related to personal injury law.

Today’s question comes from a listener who would like to know if he can sue a neighbor who has a pool in which his child was injured.

The short answer is that it depends on the specific facts surrounding the incident.

In Indiana, a property owner can be held liable for injuries a child may suffer if the child is attracted onto property by dangerous machinery, equipment or conditions left exposed so as to draw or tempt a child onto the property to play.

Of course, the owner must have knowledge of the condition, and must know that children do or are likely to trespass and be injured. The rule does not apply to dangerous conditions that are obvious, or common to nature, because children are presumed to be instructed on such dangers.

Thus, a swimming pool in a park, whether artificially constructed or part of a natural pond or lake, arguably may not qualify as an attractive nuisance, unless there is some hidden danger to it.

Yet, a swimming pool or other body of water might be considered an attractive nuisance, where there are specific facts to the situation that amounts to a hidden danger. The hidden danger of thin ice on a pond, for example, might very well qualify as an attractive nuisance. In every case involving a child injury related to a pond or swimming pool, always consult an attorney for advice.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have questions about your legal rights if you get hurt due to the carelessness of another person, or as a result of substandard medical care, or due to a product defect, construction injury, or any other type of personal injury, please give us a call at (219) 736-9700. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at www.DavidHolubLaw.com – while there make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth”.