Liability can sometimes be a tricky area of law. In certain aspects, it is fairly straightforward, such as when a children’s toy breaks under normal use and injures a child. Sometimes it can be fairly complex, such as with some premises liability incidents.

Premises liability basically means that you are responsible for injuries occurring to guests on your property if the improperly maintained or dangerous property itself is what hurts them. For example, if you have a paved sidewalk and there’s a raised lip in one of the seams, you could be responsible for injuries if a child tripped on that edge.

Icy walkways, falling objects, bad lighting, holes, uneven pavement, standing water, unsafe furniture, etc.

Just such an event happened recently when 8 children were injured by a falling tree branch outside of a church in Los Angeles. None of them were critically injured, but according to witnesses, the children were merely playing underneath the tree when the branch gave way and fell on them.

Four children were taken to nearby hospitals, but only one suffered injuries serious enough to warrant transport by paramedic.

Any more information about the condition of the children is unknown at this time, but this whole event goes to show that it is incredibly important to be extra vigilant about the maintenance of all commonly-used spaces. Injuries sustained from something like a falling tree branch could easily be life-threatening or fatal to a child.

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/06/15/4-children-suffer-minor-injuries-from-fallen-tree-branch-outside-church/