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Swimming Pool Accidents: Drownings Can Be Prevented

| May 4, 2015 | Premises Liability

Unintentional drownings are one of the leading causes of unintentional death in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 10 people die from unintentional drowning on a daily basis and unintentional drowning is the number one unintentional cause of death for children aged 1-4. For children aged 5-9 it is the second leading cause of unintentional death and the fourth leading cause for children 10-14.

For many more children, swimming pool accidents, including long-term submersion can lead to emergency care and hospitalization. The CDC reports that for every child who dies from an unintentional drowning another five children are sent to the hospital for treatment for nonfatal submersion injuries. Further, these injuries can lead to traumatic brain injuries and lasting problems for the children who experience the submersion.

Needless to say swimming pool accidents and submersions can have devastating results.

Barriers Can Help Prevent Swimming Pool Accidents

One of the leading causes of these drownings and submersion injuries is a failure to properly install barriers around the swimming pool. These barriers can take the form of fences, gates, walls or other physical structures. The barriers ensure that a child cannot gain access to the swimming pool without the awareness of a caregiver or parent.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) researches a wide variety of activities which place the public at risk for injury and aims to educate and prevent unreasonable injury or death. The CPSC has recently published its Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools, which strongly advises owners of residential pools to install four-sided physical barriers around the entirety of the pool. The publication also recognizes different forms of barriers which can help prevent the startling rate of submersions and drownings. They have found that installation of such barriers can reduced the risk of drowning by 83%.

If you live in an apartment, condominium complex or housing community which features a swimming pool, then it is the legal duty of the owner/landlord to ensure that the pool is reasonably safe. Courts have found homeowners liable for swimming pool accidents for failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent pool-related injuries on their land. Also, courts have found landlords liable for failing to provide a reasonably safe swimming pool area which includes a fence.

Further, the landlord is legally bound to warn tenants of any dangerous conditions and must exercise reasonable care to prevent or fix the dangerous condition, which include defects with swimming pools.

If you or your loved one has suffered from a swimming pool accident, then please contact the San Diego personal injury lawyers at Martinez & Schill LLP for a free consultation. The experienced personal injury lawyers at Martinez & Schill offer free consultations and are not paid unless you recover. Contact our San Diego office: 619-512-5995 or Riverside office: 951-200-4630.

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