THE SPOOKY PART OF HALLOWEEN: LIABILITY

Halloween can be a fun time for all ages. With the weather still good in most parts of the U.S., many people take the opportunity to enjoy the holiday outside. As a property owner, this presents special issues regarding safety and liability.  

PREMISES LIABILITY

Premise liability is the part of the law that says a homeowner has a legal responsibility to keep his property safe from hazards. If a homeowner does not warn about, or fails to correct, a hazardous condition on his property, he may be liable for any injuries that result. While it’s always important to keep your property safe, Halloween adds an extra degree of difficulty: It’s dark, children are running, and costumes with masks can make it difficult to see. Make sure all your walkways are well lit and cleared of any trip hazard. Try to think of what a young, excited child might miss seeing, and remove any potential dangers.

PETS

We all love our pets, and some of us even dress up our four-legged family members in costumes for the holiday. Our pets, however, don’t always like Halloween; Halloween can be scary for them. Costumes are confusing to them, and there is a lot of noise and movement. Even a usually well-behaved and mild-mannered animal can act poorly when their normal environment gets (from their perspective) strange and overwhelming. While Spot and Fido will undoubtedly look hysterically funny in their pet costumes, having them greet trick-or-treaters is not a good idea. Keep your pets secure and away from people coming to your home.

ADULT PARTIES AND ALCOHOL

If you are planning to have an adult Halloween party, or even if you are offering adult beverages to the escorts of little trick-or-treaters, you need to remember that you can be responsible for someone who is acting irresponsibly. In other words, make sure that anyone attending your party drinks responsibly and does not drive after drinking. If you offer parents/caretakers a beer or glass of wine during their evening out with their costumed children, make sure that the parent isn’t already intoxicated and is acting responsibly with respect to the children for whom they are caretakers.   

SAFETY TIPS

One of the best ways to protect yourself from premises liability is to make sure that you have a current homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy with adequate personal liability coverage. Clear your sidewalk and driveway of wet leaves that may cause visitors to slip. Below are some tips on preventing accidents on your property:

• Clear your yard and porch of tripping hazards such as extension cords, potted plants, hoses, toys, and other debris.
• Secure porch railings and patch or clearly mark divots in your yard or sidewalk that may cause visitors to stumble.
• Keep the outside of your home well-lit but replace any open flames with electric light (this includes replacing the candles in your jack-o-lantern with flameless LED candles).
• Firmly secure Halloween decorations so they can’t tip over or blow away.
• Avoid Halloween decorations that move, as they may badly startle a visitor into falling and injuring themselves.
• Keep pets inside and away from the door when greeting trick-or-treaters.

CONTACT YOUR PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY

If someone is involved in an accident on your property, or if you are injured while on someone else’s premises, contact Dave Thomas at The Thomas Law Firm for a free evaluation of your legal rights.