Am I liable for someone injured climbing over my fence?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Am I liable for someone injured climbing over my fence?
I have a fenced back yard that backs up to a golf course. Occasionally kids, and sometimes adults, climb my fence to get access to the golf course or to pass from the golf course to the residential street. These trespassers are typically not paying golfers, they are passing through or seeking to get on the course to poach a few free holes of golf. When I see someone beginning to climb the fence I ask them not to. Am I liable in the event someone is injured doing this, and what do I do to protect myself from such liability?
Asked on June 12, 2012 under Personal Injury, Colorado
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
As the owner of the property, you are liable if a trespasser is injured climbing your fence. You would be liable for the trespasser's medical bills, pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills, and wage loss. Your homeowner's insurance policy may provide coverage if a trespasser is injured on your property and files a claim.
As for avoiding liability, other than making it impossible for someone to attempt to climb the fence, there may not be any other alternative. If you made the fence too tall to be scaled and with razor wire on top of it, that might discourage trespassing, but unfortunately if some trespasser still tried to climb the fence and was injured, you would still be liable as the landowner.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.