Archive for the ‘Injuries to Children’ Category

Children Injured by Attractive Nuisance on Property in Tennessee

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Every year thousands of children suffer serious injury or wrongful death from dangerous conditions and hazards on others’ property. These children often are not invited onto the premises nor is the property generally held open to the public. However, it is highly foreseeable that certain types of man-made conditions or hazards may appeal to a child’s curiosity with obvious examples including open trenches, swimming pools, scaffoldings and temporary structures. The general area of Tennessee law that governs injuries to children in such situations is premises liability law and more specifically the attractive nuisance doctrine. The basic idea is that because it is typically foreseeable that children may be drawn to such hazards and unable to appreciate the risk, a property owner may be liable for injuries to a child who wanders on a property and suffers injury or wrongful death caused by a man-made hazard. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz has been representing Tennessee children who suffer serious injury and wrongful death from hazards on others’ property for over 20 years. Serious injuries to a child are particularly troubling because they can have a lifelong impact on a child’s future and quality of life.

Tennessee premises liability law generally does not impose a significant duty on property owners to protect adults whom trespass on private property, such as, a person who is entering the property to take a shortcut or to snoop around. The only obligation owed to a trespasser is not to cause intentional injury. This effectively means that a Tennessee property owner is not liable for injuries to an adult who falls in a trench but would be liable if the trench was hidden under a cover designed to trap unsuspecting trespassers. By contrast, a property owner may be liable for injuries to a child that falls in a trench on the property even if it was open and obvious.

An attractive nuisance is an artificially constructed condition on property that both has a tendency to attract children and to pose a risk of injury. The key is that it is foreseeable that a child might be attracted to certain dangerous conditions but not possess the sophistication and maturity to appreciate the potential danger. Common examples of hazardous man-made conditions that may constitute an attractive nuisance include the following:

• Swimming pool

• Open trench, hole or ditch

• Piles of building materials

• Construction equipment or machinery

• Piles of lumber

• Trampolines

This list is hardly exhaustive but provides a few examples of the types of hazards that may be considered an attractive nuisance. Generally, an attractive nuisance is a man-made hazard rather than a naturally occurring hazard like a pond or other natural part of the terrain.

Tennessee courts will typically engage in a balancing test considering a variety of factors when determining whether to impose liability for an attractive nuisance including the following.

• The owner’s knowledge of prior trespassing on the property

• Whether the type of risk is one that a child would understand and appreciate

• The magnitude of the risk

• The burden associated with eliminating the danger in light of the degree of risk posed to children

• Safeguards actually taken by the property owner to prevent injury to children from the hazard

Tennessee’s attractive nuisance doctrine is designed to protect children who innocently wonder onto property and are exposed to risks of injury that they may not be mature enough to understand. If your child has been injured by an attractive nuisance, the experienced premises liability attorneys at NST Law can help you receive the full compensation to which you may be legally entitled. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz has offices in Memphis, Jackson and Knoxville, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and Jonesboro, Arkansas with the experience and resources necessary to fully investigate and help successfully resolve your Tennessee premises liability case. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, PLC is the largest plaintiff’s law firm in Tennessee that helps injured people recover compensation due to someone else’s negligence. Call NST Law today for your free no obligation initial consultation with a Tennessee injury attorney at 1-800-LAW-4004 (1-800-529-4004) or visit us on the web at www.nstlaw.com. No matter where you are in Tennessee, Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz is just a phone call away.

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Tennessee Amusement Park Accidents Often Result in Catastrophic Injuries to Children

Saturday, October 30th, 2010

Although Tennessee amusement park accidents are fairly rare, they often result in catastrophic injury when they occur leading to head, neck or back injuries and even death. Because amusement parks, carnival rides and water parks are most commonly enjoyed by children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that over 50% of all amusement park injuries are suffered by children under the age of 14. It is also the case that amusement park injuries may be more common than many believe because there is no federal agency that oversees or reports theme park injuries and state reporting is also inconsistent. Nonetheless, each year nearly 10,000 people are treated in emergency rooms from amusement park injuries. The CPSC also reports that between 1987 and 2004, 67 people died in amusement park ride accidents and thousands more were injured each year.

Tennessee law generally does not specifically address carnival and amusement rides with the narrow exception of aerial rides and tramways. Common causes of amusement park and carnival ride accidents include mechanical failure as a result of defective or poorly maintained rides and facilities, negligent operation or supervision of rides and safety equipment, and inadequate maintenance, repair or assembly of amusement park rides.

Sometimes the actual rides or safety equipment like the doors, lap bars or shoulder harness can be defective and malfunction. If the equipment malfunctions because of a defect in the equipment, the manufacturer of the amusement park or carnival ride may be liable under a product liability theory.

When safety equipment or other parts of the ride malfunction because of failure to conduct routine safety checks or failure to properly supervise the ride, the owner of the amusement park facility may be liable for negligence if they failed to exercise the care of a reasonable prudent in similar circumstances to avoid the risk of harm. Tennessee implemented a mandatory inspection program for amusement park rides in 2009. Failure of an amusement park or carnival operator to comply with these state guidelines may provide evidence of negligent conduct.

Though there are a wide variety of injuries that can result from theme park accidents, common types of injuries include the following:

• Falls: Riders can fall or be thrown from a ride leading to a catastrophic injury and even death.

• Stroke: The violent jerking motion of high-speed roller coaster type rides can cause tears to the arteries in a rider’s neck, which may lead to a stroke.

• Traumatic Brain Injury: A person riding a roller coaster can suffer a subdural hematoma (bleeding on the brain) because of the stress created on the veins in a rider’s brain. A piece of equipment can also become dislodged and hit a rider in the head.

• Drowning: Drowning injuries can occur in water parks.

This represents only a small sampling of the type of serious injuries that can result from defective or poorly maintained amusement park ride or inadequate supervision by theme park employees. The attorneys of Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz have the experience and knowledge to handle serious injury claims resulting from amusement park accidents. If you or your loved one is seriously injured in an amusement park, carnival ride or water park, NST Law will help you obtain appropriate compensation.

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