With springtime approaching the summer months aren’t far behind. In many parts of the United States, Memorial Day in May marks the time at which swimming pools open for summertime fun. Of course, in 2020 there exists a sense of uncertainty about what will and will not happen in regard to recreational activities as a result of the COVID-19 virus. With that said, hoping that significant progress is made on controlling the coronavirus, parents need to be prepared and need to prepare their children for a safe summer at the pool. Parents also need to understand what rights they and their children have should an aquatic, swimming, or pool injury occur.
Common Causes of Children Drowning or Injuries at Pools
As a parent, you can best protect your children from drowning accidents by being familiar with some of the most common causes of these types of accidents. One of the most common causes of children drowning is lack of proper supervision. Every year, children die in drowning accidents because they were left unsupervised, in some cases for a matter of a few minutes. This type of child drowning death even occurs because a lifeguard at a pool is distracted, even for a moment.
Another of the common causes of children drowning is a proper lack of swimming ability and training. Throughout the year, children who’ve not developed appropriate swimming skills are permitted into the water without proper and direct oversight. As a result, they’re unable to properly maneuver in the water and end up in a crisis situation that very well may end up in near-drowning or drowning.
While on the subject of proper training, another cause of children dying in aquatic accidents is an absence of adults at a pool with proper CPR training. Annually, children die in aquatic accidents when what might have been a near-drowning incident becomes a fatal drowning because no adult is available to provide appropriate CPR.
On a related, children die in pool drowning accidents every year because there is a lack of proper rescue equipment near the water. Any type of pool should have rescue equipment that includes a shepherd’s hook (a long pool with a hook on the end) as well as a life preserver. In addition, a telephone should always be directly near a pool.
Children drown as the result of gaining access to pools when absolutely no one is around. Unfortunately, many pools are not properly protected with a fence and a self-latching gate with a handle above the height that young children can reach. A pool fence should be five feet in height. In addition, in order to fully protect a pool from unsupervised entry by a child, the gate the pool deck area should be alarmed.
Beyond drowning accidents involving children (and adults), there are also other ways in which people become injured as well as seriously and even fatally harmed in pools. In recent times, national attention has been on the dangers of infectious diseases. Every year people become ill as the result of infectious diseases contracted while being in a pool. Examples of diseases that can be contracted through pool water include:
- HPV – Human Papilloma Virus
- Klebsiella
- E. Coli
- Staphylococcus Aureus
- Candida
- Streptococcal Bacteria
- Influenza
Proper care and maintenance of a pool, together with consistent monitoring of water status, is crucial in preventing the spread of disease.
Your Legal Rights and the Rights of Your Child After a Drowning Accident or Aquatic Injury
If you’re child has been injured in an aquatic accident of some sort, of if you’ve lost your child in a drowning accident, the skilled, compassionate legal team at The Doan Law Firm at (800) 349-0000 stands ready to help you during these difficult times. A nationwide law practice, we’ve office from coast to coast across the United States. We can arrange an initial consultation with an experienced drowning accident lawyer at any one of our offices or via a virtual case evaluation online. There is no charge for an initial consultation and case evaluation with a Doan Law Firm drowning accident lawyer.
The Doan Law Firm makes an attorney fee promise to you. We never charge an attorney fee unless we win for you.