Oklahoma § 76-80 - Safety of premises - Liability to trespasser

§ 76-80. Safety of premises - Liability to trespasser

A. A possessor of land, including an owner, lessee, or other

occupant, has no duty to make its premises safe for a trespasser and

is not subject to liability for any injury to a trespasser.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a possessor of

land may be subject to liability for physical injury or death to a

trespasser in the following situations:

1. A land possessor who knows or reasonably should know of a

trespasser’s presence on the premises has a duty not to injure that

trespasser by a wanton or intentional act, except as permitted by

Sections 643 and 1289.25 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes; or

2. A land possessor may be subject to liability for physical

injury or death to a child trespasser from a highly dangerous

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 76. Torts

artificial condition on the land if the plaintiff establishes all of

the following:

a.

the possessor knew or had reason to know that children

were likely to trespass at the location of the

condition,

b.

the condition is one the possessor knew or reasonably

should have known was unusually attractive to children

and involved an unreasonable risk of death or serious

bodily harm,

c.

the injured child was attracted onto the premises by

the condition,

d.

the child lacked the ability to appreciate or realize

the risk,

e.

the utility to the possessor of maintaining the

condition and the burden of eliminating the danger

were slight as compared with the risk to the child

involved, and

f.

the child’s injury was directly caused by the

possessor’s failure to exercise reasonable care to

eliminate the danger or otherwise protect the child.

As a matter of law, a child under seven (7) years of age has no

ability to appreciate the risk from highly dangerous artificial

conditions. A child between seven (7) and fourteen (14) years of

age is presumed to lack the ability to appreciate the risk from

highly dangerous artificial conditions; this presumption may be

overcome if the possessor proves by the greater weight of the

evidence that the child had the ability to appreciate the danger on

the premises at the time of the harm. A child trespasser who is

fourteen (14) years of age or older has the burden of proving by the

greater weight of the evidence that the child lacked the ability to

appreciate the danger on the premises at the time of the harm.

C. “Trespasser” means a person who enters the real estate of

another without the permission of the person lawfully entitled to

possession. Permission may be either expressed or implied.

D. 1. This section shall not affect Section 16-71.7 of Title 2

of the Oklahoma Statutes relating to trespass upon agricultural land

or Section 10.1 of Title 76 of the Oklahoma Statutes relating to

trespass upon land used for recreational purposes not for profit.

2. This section shall not create or increase the liability of

any person or entity.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 234, § 9.