Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania

1) Understand that as a property owner, you are not the absolute insurer of those who enter onto your property. Conversely, in Amercia, anybody can be sued, even when the legal basis for the claim is slim.

2) Send a certified letter to your neighbor detailing that unsupervised children are entering your property at these times without your permission and you are afraid they will hurt themselves due to the lack of supervision. Ask that the behavior be stopped and that the children not be allowed to enter your property. This will allow you to argue that the children are trespassers. Landowners owe the lowest duty of care to trespassers.

3) If the letter is subseuently ignored, politely ask the children to leave your property. If they fail or refuse, call the police to report them as trespassers. If the department sends a cruiser, ask that the children be removed. If they do not send a cruiser, hopefully the complaint will be recorded.

4) Make sure that you are adequately insured. Check your homeowners insurance to determine whether it has a medical payment provision. Some policies have this provision. It allows payment of a small amount of medical benefits to someone injured on your property on a no-fault basis. This provision can be used to secure a release and avoid lawsuits. If you do not have that type of provision, consider shopping for a policy with that product.

5) Inspect your property at regular intervals and correct any dangers you find.

6) Document all your actions in a file.

7) Consider building a fence. "Fences make good neighbors."