Your dog runs away one morning because your child forgets to latch the gate. You go looking for it, and you wind up on your neighbor’s property. To your surprise, they’ve set up booby traps to stop potential burglars, and you inadvertently get injured while simply looking for your dog.
While you’re in the hospital recovering, your neighbor reiterates that they just set these up to stop burglars, which they think is fine. But are they right? Is it legal to set booby traps on your own property?
These traps are illegal, and you may be able to sue
The truth is that booby traps are illegal and the person who sets them is usually liable for any injuries that they cause. In this case, that means you may be able to easily sue to recover lost wages, the cost of medical bills and much more.
It does not matter that you were technically trespassing when you got injured. It does not matter that your neighbor intended to use the traps against people who were trying to break into their house. While in-the-moment self-defense is certainly legal, your neighbor could even be liable for injuring an actual burglar with the booby traps. These are just too great of a danger to the public and they cannot be used in this manner, regardless of intent.
So what should you do next?
Your injuries have put you through a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering, and they’ve caused you to need expensive medical treatment. You may be able to seek compensation for all of this, and you need to know exactly what legal options you have.