Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

The attractive nuisance doctrine is a rule of tort law, recognized in some jurisdictions, under which a landowner can be held liable for injuries suffered by a child who trespasses onto the land and is hurt by some object or condition on the property that is likely to attract children. The doctrine exists because young children often cannot appreciate the danger posed by hazards such as swimming pools, abandoned vehicles, or unsecured machinery the way an adult trespasser would be expected to. It originated in English case law with Lynch v Nurdin in 1841, and reached the United States through an 1873 Nebraska case involving a child hurt on an unsecured railway turntable, after which the doctrine spread to other common law jurisdictions, including Canada, though its exact scope still varies by jurisdiction. Under the modern Restatement of Torts formulation, a landowner is liable only if the owner knew or should have known children were likely to trespass, the condition posed a serious risk of harm, the children because of their age could not appreciate that risk, the burden of eliminating the hazard was slight compared to the risk, and the owner failed to exercise reasonable care to protect against it.