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The Epidemic of Swimming Pool Accidents, Diving Injuries, and Alcohol-Related Swimming Accidents

Every year, over five hundred children under the age of ten drown in preventable swimming pool drownings, and thousands more go to hospital emergency rooms with catastrophic brain or spinal cord injuries caused by serious hypoxia or blunt force trauma experienced in a preventable swimming pool accident. Last year, over 60,000 people in the United States required emergency room treatment for injuries sustained in swimming pool accidents, such as when falling off of malfunctioning swimming pool slides or broken diving boards or when diving into too-shallow water. The numbers are staggering; some social scientists have noted that a swimming pool at a house is statistically one-hundred times more likely to cause a fatal accident than even a handgun at the house.

The experienced swimming pool accident lawyers of The Beasley Reiff Law Group are all too familiar with the tragic consequences of drowning and other preventable water-related injuries. A person can drown in less than 2 inches of water and sustain brain damage from  submersion for only a minute or two.  During the summer season, there are approximately ten water-related deaths per day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 in 4 fatal drowning victims are children aged 14 and younger. For every child who drowns, another four receive medical treatment for non-fatal submersion and brain injuries.

Many Swimming Pool Accidents Are Caused By Negligent Supervision

The CDC has determined that the major risk factors for swimming pools accident and other drownings are a lack of barriers to a pool or spa and insufficient supervision. Most children who drown in pools were last seen in the home, were in the care of one or both parents, and had been out of sight for less than five minutes. With adult or adolescent deaths, alcohol is often a factor, because it impairs balance, coordination, and judgment. In the summer months, sun exposure, heat, high light levels, and dehydration all exacerbate the effects of alcohol, making it an even more dangerous mixture with water-based activities like swimming and boating.

Many Swimming Pools Have Unsafe And Illegally Dangerous Drains

Apart from negligence pool supervision or reckless behavior, many swimming pool accidents are caused by defective and dangerous equipment. On December 19, 2008, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a federal law designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapment in pools and spas, became effective. The Pool and Spa Safety Act requires installation of anti-entrapment and drain covers and other safety systems. In particular, all public pools and spas must have an ASME/ANSI A112.19-8-2007 compliant drain cover installed and have a second anti-entrapment system installed when there is only one single main drain.

The lawyers of The Beasley Reiff Law Group have successfully litigated swimming pool lawsuits arising from drain entrapment of children leading to disembowelment and drowning, and we know how heartbreaking these accidents are. Unfortunately, a recent poll of swimming pool owners and operators throughout the United States has indicated that many of them have no idea what the Safety Act is, and nearly 30 percent have indicated that they are not compliant. Many commercial pool operators claim that they cannot afford to repair a defective drain or pool, even though the cost of a repair for a new and improved drain ranges from $30 for small drains to approximately $1,000 for large drains at theme parks, kiddie pools, or hotels. There are many excellent resources available explaining the law and how to safeguard against swimming pool, drowning, and diving injuries, including www.safekids.org, www.nrpa.org, and www.youtube.com/poolsafety.

Tips To Prevent Drowning Accidents And Pool Injuries

The swimming pool accident team of The Beasley Reiff Law Group recommends the following non-inclusive steps for any homeowner, summer camp operator, or pool business owner to increase water safety:

1. Always be on the lookout for children in or around the pool area.
2. Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa, including by never letting a child have unsupervised access to a pool.
3. Teach children basic water safety.
4. Avoid entrapment by teaching children not to play with pool drains, pipes, and other openings.
5. Have a phone close by at all times when you or your family is using a pool or spa.
6. If you child is missing, look for them in the pool or spa first.
7. Share pool safety instructions with all family, friends, and neighbors.
8. Learn how to swim and teach your children to swim.
9. Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults and update regularly.
10. Install a minimum four-foot-high fence around the perimeter of the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates to keep children, teenagers and trespassers out.
11. If your house serves as part of the barrier or fence around a pool, install a pool alarm and use it at all times.
12. Make sure your pool or spa has drain covers.
13. Have lifesaving equipment such as life rings or floats available for use.
14. Make sure all water is clear and not cloudy.
15. If a child or adult has long hair, advise them to wear a bathing cap or take precautions so as to avoid being sucked into underwater intakes or drains.

Experienced Swimming Pool Accident Lawyers

Our drowning accident lawyers have investigated hundreds of cases and have seen the numerous factors that can cause accidental drownings and have successfully pursued cases with catastrophic injuries involving the loss of limbs, injuries to the bowel, and injuries to other organs as a result of defective swimming pool design, defective pumps, defective or non-operational drains without proper safety features in place. Our injured victims’ rights lawyers have also secured hundreds of settlement, awards, or verdicts in excess of $1 million dollars for premise liability, negligence, and product liability claims arising from catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths.

Our swimming pool accident lawyers are consulted by counsel throughout the United States each year concerning the death and drowning of children and adults in swimming pools at camps, water parks, amusement parks, community pools, municipal pools, or in home pools. The trial lawyers of The Beasley Reiff Law Group have over a century of combined legal experience and their clients have been awarded in excess of $2 billion dollars on behalf of catastrophically injured victims and their families. For a free, no obligation consultation contact one of our experienced swimming pool accident lawyers toll free at 1-800-588-0130, online at www.beasleyreifflawgroup.com, or using the form below.