Local reports from Abington, PA stated that a train-pedestrian accident on September 12, 2012 left a 16-year old boy in critical condition. Police in Abington stated that the 16-year old was walking along the train tracks near the Ardsley Station at about 3:10 p.m. when he was struck from behind by an outbound train.
Scene of the Accident
Abington news reports said that the trains run in both directions, but that recent work on the tracks has condensed the inbound and outbound trains to a single track, which was where the boy was walking. The boy was critically injured and taken to a nearby hospital. Police said that he was wearing headphones at the time of the accident.
Commentary
The legal theory of attractive nuisance places a higher standard on property owners when it comes to their duty to keep children safe. In order for the owner or possessor of the property to be held liable there are certain conditions that must be proven: 1) The owner has to know or have reason to know that children are likely to trespass on the property, 2) that there is an unreasonable risk of harm, serious bodily injury, or death to those children, 3) that children, because of their youth and inexperience are not able to appreciate the dangerous condition, 4) the utility of maintaining the dangerous condition and the burden of mitigating the danger are slight in comparison to the danger to the children, and 5) the owner or possessor does not exercise reasonable care to protect the children or eliminate the danger to them.
— Attorney Michael Grossman
