Being a mail career is not generally thought of as a hazardous job, but sometimes it can be, and you may not have to look farther than your front yard in Orange County to see why. Properties can hold a number of hazards for a person trying to deliver the mail, so you want to be aware of these problems and try to correct them so that a mail carrier does not suffer injury on your California property.
Many homeowners keep a mailbox on their house or by the curb. According to Bobvila.com, these mailboxes can be an attractive place for wasps, spiders and other pests to make a home. If these pests are not cleared out, they can inflict injury on an unsuspecting postal worker, so it is wise to check your box periodically for unwelcome visitors. Clean out spider webs, dust the box off, and air the mailbox out.
Some property owners are fond of decorating their front yards with garden gnomes. They can add some variety to a grassy lawn, but if they are not visible, an unwary mail carrier could step on or trip over one. To prevent this from happening, keep your gnomes out of the walking path of the mailbox. Do the same for any other obstacles that can cause a person to trip, like croquet hoops and children’s toys.
Pets are also something to be concerned about. Dogs in particular are known to be problems for mail carriers, with the U.S. Postal Service reporting over six thousand dog attacks on mail workers in the year 2017. However, other pets can be a problem. A postal worker dropping mail into a slot might encounter a cat’s slashing claw. Any pet that can pose a danger to a mail carrier should be kept in a secure location in the home or behind a yard fence.
Premises liability issues can take many different forms. Due to this reason, do not consider this article as legal advice. Only read it for your educational benefit.
