Swimming pool accidents and premises liability

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With another heat wave about to strike, New Jersey residents will be fleeing to swimming pools to escape the rising temperatures. Unfortunately, this often results in an increased chance of drowning occurring – especially for young children.

Swimming pool accidents are one of the major causes for premises liability type of lawsuits. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that there are about 390 swimming pools or spa-related drowning that occurs every year for children under the age of 15.

The CPSC has provided a number of tips that will prevent accidents and drowning from occurring. For example:

• Monitor children at all times whenever such children are swimming
• Provide children instruction concerning swimming and water safety
• Make sure that children do not come into contact with drains or pipes that are part of a swimming pools plumbing
• Have a way of contacting emergency services if an accident does occur
• Pay attention to children, and look to the water first if such children are missing
• Learn CPR
• Have a life-saving plan in place
• Install a fence around the pool
• Lock the spa when not in use

Just like all other premises liability cases, individuals that maintain swimming pools for public use have a duty to keep such facilities safe. Injuries and deaths often accompany a failure to keep an area such as a swimming pool safe, but owners of such facilities often do not pay close attention to their duties or take such duties seriously. Such failure is why attorneys bring lawsuits on behalf of individuals injured on particular premises.

Though means of prevention of swimming pool accidents would often seem like commonsense, that such accidents do continue mean that not everyone takes such precautions seriously. It could simply come down to individuals not believing that it could actually occur in their swimming pool.

Source: Chatham Patch, “Pool Safety Tips for Fourth of July,” by Laura Silvius, July 2, 2012