How Could A Property Owner Become Responsible of A Trespasser’s Injuries?

As a general rule, a property owner is not responsible for any injuries that might be suffered by a trespasser. Still, there are exceptions to that particular rule.

Was the plaintiff/trespasser able to show that the situation and the plaintiff’s claim were different from the typical case, involving a trespasser’s injuries?

Sometimes a property owner has learned that trespassers are walking over a certain section of that owner’s land, perhaps one that is far from his or her home. If there is an element of danger on that section of land, then a warning should be posted.

What activities did the owner pursue, while on his or her property?

Suppose that the owner’s daughter had become skilled as an archer. That would not be a valid reason for shooting arrows across a path that was used by trespassers, and putting targets on the other side of that same path. That would pose a threat to trespassers’ safety.

What means had the property owner chosen for protecting what he owned?

Personal injury lawyer in Barrie know that property owners cannot use some type of deadly force as protection from trespassers. For instance, none of them have to right to dig a ditch on their property, and use it as a trap, especially if that ditch has some pointed pieces of wood at the bottom.

The owners of property do have the right to protect it with a guard dog. Still, those that have chosen to take that approach need to post a warning to trespassers. If a trespasser were to ignore that warning, and then get injured, the owner that had arranged for the sign’s placement would not be liable for the trespasser’s injuries.

Suppose, though, that someone trespassed on a property, with an eye to stealing some of the goods on that premises. Could the owner use forceful action against that intruder?

Yes, the law allows utilization of deadly force if one or more person has been threatened. That deadly force could be a guard dog, one that has been let lose, or it could be a deadly weapon. The injury caused by that force could not be used as the basis for a personal injury claim.

Of course, a guard dog would need to be well trained, so that it only attacked the intruder, and not any guest that might be visiting at that point in time. Ideally, more than one family member would have learned how to control the family’s four-legged guard.

Moreover, it helps if such a canine has been trained to frighten, but not hurt any intruder. Once an intruder has been cornered, he or she no longer poses a threat. Hence there would be no further reason for using deadly force.