404.The.Baer (404.843.2237)
Drowning Prevention and Water Safety
A staggering 800 children die each year by drowning. More than half of those is under five. According to a study conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1-4 years of age, the second leading cause of death for children 5-14 years of age, and the third leading cause for children under 1 and older teens ages 15-17.
There are many misconceptions about how drownings occur, and that only adds to the problem. Many parents believe that they will see or hear their child struggling and can respond in time. Or that air-filled water wings prevent drowning. Unfortunately, most drownings occur silently, without screaming, flailing, or splashing. Air-filled arm floats do not always avoid a fatal accident. In the tragic event that a drowning occurs, it is normal to wonder who is to blame.
When someone else is negligent in supervising swimmers in a public or private body of water, including a swimming pool, accident victims may have the right to file a personal injury claim. Premises liability attorney, Bryan Baer, at The Baer Law Firm has decades of experience and can help with your case.
Community or Club Swimming Pools
Owners and operators of neighborhood, club or community pools must take proper care to ensure that the water area is safe. That means ensuring the safety equipment is maintained correctly and that the water depth levels are clearly marked. Property owners must also maintain proper lighting and clear water quality so that it is possible to see inside. When a property owner fails to do this, and there is a fatal injury at the pool or swimming area, the owner could be held responsible.
When a community swimming pool provides lifeguards, they have a duty to do so in a manner that is not negligent. Parents remain responsible for supervising their children, and the law does not allow parents to delegate this task to the lifeguard on duty…a lifeguard’s responsibility at public pools and other swimming areas is not to supervise any one child. Instead, lifeguards are present to enforce pool rules, scan, rescue, and resuscitate. Therefore, parents and other adults must supervise their own children.
However, there may be instances when a lifeguard does not comply with the standard of care towards swimmers while on duty. If a lifeguard is present and a drowning occurs, a court would look to any acts of negligence in deciding whether to hold the property owner responsible. Some areas where property owners can be found negligent are the ratio of lifeguards to swimmers, training provided to lifeguards, certifications of lifeguards hired, and hours scheduled. There are also occasions where lifeguards are not paying attention or distracted by their phones or something other than pool safety rendering a lifeguard slow to react in an emergency situation. These situations are always grounded in specific facts. A court will look to the circumstances contributing to the drowning and measure the lifeguard’s actions against how another lifeguard would have reacted if in a similar situation.
Private Swimming Pools
Owners of private pools (i.e., a swimming pool in someone’s backyard), can be responsible for a drowning or other serious injury that occurs due to the pool as well. One big factor with respect to drownings at a private pool is the status of the person harmed. A private property owner owes more of a duty to a guest it invites over (known as an invitee) than it does a person who enters the property without permission (i.e., a trespasser). A trespasser who forces his way onto the property and into a pool without permission may not have a claim against the property owner if a drowning occurred.
There is a notable exception, and that is if the victim was a child. In the state of Georgia, property owners with pools must enclose it by a fence. The fence must be at least four feet high. It must latch appropriately and should be at least six inches or less from the top. This is to prevent a roaming child from unlatching the gate and making their way, unattended, into the pool.
While there certainly is no duty of a private property owner to hire a lifeguard, private pool owners do owe their guests a duty of reasonable care. That would include providing proper supervision to a young child over on a play date. Private property owners also owe a duty to keep their pool and surrounding property in good condition and provide warning of known hazards. For instance, failing to have proper chlorine levels can lead to liability if it causes a guest harm. Too much and too little chlorine both can lead to bad injuries. A private property owner could also be liable for a defect in concrete or tile around the pool that causes a trip and fall that results in drowning or serious bodily harm.
Natural Bodies of Water
State and local governments typically have immunities that prevent them from being legally liable for a drowning in an ocean or lake. An exception may be made for a breach of a very specific task that the municipal law or policy required them to perform, and the municipality failed to do so. For instance, if a municipality provides lifeguards, there may be a requirement that all lifeguards pass a physical exam. If so, a municipality could be responsible for hiring a lifeguard who did not pass the physical who then failed to respond to the physical demands necessitated by the rescue.
If the victim were on a private stretch of beach or lake, similar rules that would apply to the owner of a club, community, or neighborhood pool, would apply to the occupier of a private area of beach or lake. If the victim was visiting the lake or ocean as part of a sponsored event (like a church or school trip), there potentially could be liability to the sponsor of the group especially if there was an expectation of supervision that was not met.
Contact an Experienced Attorney
Losing a loved one to drowning is a horrific experience that we hope you never have to go through. If you are experiencing such a loss, please reach out. Atlanta personal injury attorney, Bryan Baer, at The Baer Law Firm is available to speak with you about your legal rights and potential options, giving you the honest advice you need to move forward. We invite you to schedule a free consultation with us at 404.THE.BAER (404.843.2237) or through our contact form online.
Attorney Bryan Baer has twenty (20) years of legal experience representing clients in serious and catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He has been first chair in more than a dozen twelve-person jury trials on both the plaintiff and defense sides. Recognized as a leader in his legal community, he is frequently asked to speak at legal seminars on trial topics ranging from “Best Practices in Voire Dire” to “Maximizing Damages at Trial” as well as insurance issues such as “Navigating the Insurance Landscape” and “Injury Demands & Negotiations.” Learn more here.