If I am injured in a slip-and-fall accident while trespassing on someone’s property, can I receive compensation?

A trespasser is a person who visits a property without having permission from the property owner or property manager.

Generally speaking, if an individual is trespassing on someone’s property and sustains a serious injury such as a broken leg, the property owner is not legally responsible for the trespasser’s injuries. A property owner has certain legal duties to maintain his or her property in safe condition for invited guests and people who are lawfully on the property. But a property owner does not have a duty to remove hazardous conditions to keep a trespasser safe. But the law also contains some exceptions in which an injured person who was trespassing may be entitled to compensation.

If the property owner is aware that you are trespassing on the property and acquiesces to your presence on the property and failed to warn of a hazardous condition, then the owner may be financially liable for your injuries just as the owner would be responsible for the injuries of an invited guest. The property owner may owe you compensation for your injuries in this situation.

A trespasser also may be entitled to compensation if the property owner caused intentional harm to the trespasser.

Children Trespassers

Children who trespass are treated differently by the law because they are too young to recognize the dangers posed by hazardous conditions and attractive nuisances. Unsecured pools are a common example of an attractive nuisance. If there is a condition on the property such as an unsecured swimming pool that would be attractive to children, and a child climbs in the pool and drowns or is injured, the property owner may be held liable even if the child was a trespasser on the property.

A lawyer at David Resnick & Associates, P.C., can review the specific details of your accident and determine whether you may be entitled to seek compensation for your injuries, even though you were trespassing on the property. In specific situations, a property owner may be legally responsible for the injuries sustained by an individual who is trespassing.