San Mateo Personal Injury Blog

Holiday travel can be stressful for California residents who decide to leave their homes and head off to visit their family members and friends. If they fly they can be forced to face long security lines, delayed flights and even cancellations that may prevent them from getting to their destinations. If they drive, they may find congested roads, bad weather and other challenges that may slow their travels.

While not all holiday travel plans are marred by delays and issues, too many Americans are affected by vehicle accidents and collisions during December and January as they take trips to see the people that they love. A winter motor vehicle accident can impose serious pain and suffering upon a person who may incur property losses, physical harm and financial pressures all from being the victim of a collision.

When a person enters onto the property of another without the property owner's permission, they may be considered a trespasser. A trespasser is someone who elects to go where they are not invited and where there is no guarantee that their safety can be protected. In California trespassers may not be able to collect compensation for the injuries they suffer on other people's land if they entered onto it without authorization.

Unlike invited guests and even some licensees, trespassers are not generally anticipated by property owners and therefore property owners cannot prepare their properties in advance of trespassing events to keep trespassers safe. If a property owner knows that there is a reasonable chance that others may enter their land without permission, they can take proactive steps to protect themselves from possible liability for the trespassers' injuries by posting signs regarding trespassing and possible dangers that are on their property.

If readers of this blog have ever spent time with children, then they know that they can be impulsive. Children often follow their whims and not the rules, and sometimes their energetic tendencies lead them into situations where they could face danger. Property owners have a particular duty to keep children safe by ensuring that attractive nuisances on their property are appropriately managed.

An attractive nuisance is a property feature that would be interesting to a child and may cause that child to go onto the property of another to see it. A swimming pool may be considered an attractive nuisance, and so, too, may a fountain, set of stairs or a tunnel.

It can be hard to imagine a cuddly pet dog as anything other than a member of one's family, but it sometimes takes an act of aggression on the part of the creature to remind their owner that they are, in fact, an animal. Animals can be unpredictable and, therefore, should be trained by their owners to prevent them from attacking. When dogs and other animals bite, their victims may have legal options for seeking recovery of their damages.

In California, there are several circumstances that may lead a victim to pursue damages for dog bites and attacks. One set of circumstances involves the presence of the victim on the land of the dog's owner. If the victim was on the owner's land legally, then the owner of the land may be liable to the victim for the harm their pet caused.