On October 31st, you can expect children to travel door-to-door collecting candy and showing off their spooky costumes. While Halloween is a fun time, it’s crucial to be mindful of potential risks on your premises. Please continue reading for essential advice on maintaining the safety of your premises this Halloween. We also underscore the importance of consulting with our dedicated Essex County Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys for guidance.
How Do I Keep My Premises Safe on Halloween?
As a property owner in New Jersey, it’s your duty to maintain a safe environment, especially with Halloween approaching. You must thoroughly inspect your property for potential hazards. Should you find any, promptly address them or restrict access to prevent visitors and passersby from encountering these dangerous conditions. Simple fixes might include removing an electrical wire from a walkway, while more extensive repairs could involve replacing a missing step.
Neglecting this duty of care could result in devastating injuries if a welcomed guest is injured due to an unavoidable danger. If you are found negligent in maintaining your premises, you could be held liable for the injured party’s damages.
It’s important to provide adequate lighting to prevent slips, trips, and falls. Additionally, you should remove clutter, decorations, electrical wires, or other items that could pose a significant hazard. If you have a pet, you should keep it secured indoors to prevent it from startling or potentially biting visitors. The unforeseen increase in individuals may cause stress to some animals.
If you are hosting a Halloween party, you should be advised that providing alcohol at a Halloween party entails the responsibility of preventing the over-serving of guests, who may subsequently pose a risk to others while operating a motor vehicle.
How Can I Prevent Trick-or-Treaters from Coming to My Property?
If you are looking to mitigate the risk associated with Halloween visitors or have identified a significant hazard that cannot be adequately addressed within a limited timeframe, you may consider restricting access to the property. This can be achieved by securing and locking permiter gates, if such physical barriers are present, or by presenting, or by prominently displaying a “No Trespassing” sign at the front of the property. You should also ensure the premises don’t have features that could attract children and pose a hazard.
Should a slip and fall accident claim be pursued, these actions can provide a strong basis for defense. Specifically, one would possess tangible evidence demonstrating that reasonable measures were undertaken to deter the injured party from entering the premises, thereby indicating they were not an invited guest. Furthermore, it could be argued that they should have been reasonably cognizant of the potentially dangerous condition on your premises but ultimately acted carelessly in failing to avoid it.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact an experienced attorney at The Law Offices of Christopher T. Howell, Esq.