With summertime in full swing, many children of all ages are drawn to backyard swimming pools. In warmer regions of the country, backyard swimming pools are commonplace to the homes lining cul de sacs and suburban side streets. Likewise, swimming in the ponds and lakes of rural areas also increases during the summer months.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Florida is the leading state in drowning deaths, particularly in children ages 1-4. Every year in the state of Florida, enough children to fill 4 preschool classrooms die as a result of drowning accidents. Often times these deaths were preventable.
What are the Common Causes of Swimming and Pool Related Accidents?
Drowning Deaths – Unauthorized/Unsupervised Access to the Pool or Water
Drowning deaths and serious, related injuries are reported each year in association with swimming pool accidents. Many of these deaths occur when a pool is not properly secured by fencing and/or a locked gate. A young child may gain unauthorized access to a swimming pool and can fall in. Small children lack the ability to swim or strength to get out of the water. Unauthorized access to backyard swimming pools is among the leading causes of drowning deaths or serious water-related injuries. According to Florida’s Residential Swimming Pool Law, enacted in 2000, a pool must be fully enclosed by proper barriers such as at least a 4 feet high fence or locked gates and alarm mechanisms. Pool owners are encouraged to read the entire law (see the link above) in order to ensure they meet the minimum requirements.
Diving Accidents and Injuries
As kids grow and develop, many learn to swim and begin to learn the importance of basic pool safety. Older children, especially adolescents, are typically active and are prone to accidents stemming from play. Accidents resulting from diving/jumping or other forms of “rough-housing” in the pool contribute to a large percentage of fractures, spinal cord injuries and brain injuries among teens and young adults.
Severe brain and spinal cord injuries often result from diving into shallow water. Most dives, especially head-first dives, can result in the head striking the bottom or floor of the pool. Brain trauma can result, as well as spinal cord compression or fracture from just a few pounds of pressure applied by the impact. Shallow dives have resulted in partial and full paralysis as well as death in both children and adults.
The American Red Cross recommends a minimum of 9 feet of water depth for head first dives including dives from pool decks. (American Red Cross Basic Water Safety, Washington, D.C., 1988.) Many swimming pools are not built at this depth and it is very difficult, if not impossible to determine the depth in a natural body of water without an official measurement.
Hazardous Pool Toys
Many pool toys are considered to be safe and one may feel that a floating toy or device would improve safety and lessen the chance of a swimming accident or drowning. However, it is possible for entanglement to occur (even with a float or inflatable toy) and for the swimmer to become pinned with his or head below the water.
Negligence can make Pool Owners Fully Liable
Pool owners, by Florida state law, are inherently charged with certain responsibilities to ensure pool safety:
- Proper Safety Equipment – Public pools must keep a shepherd’s hook readily accessible at all times, while owners of sloping pools (in ground pools with a deep end) must have a safety line drawn across the water’s surface at the point of the incline.
- Failure to Warn – A pool is simply a body of water and is viewed as a dangerous condition. Public/hotel pool owners must post visible signs to warn of the absence of a lifeguard. Home pool owners will want to post warning signs near their own pool (fence, surrounding walls) as a safeguard.
- Premises Liability – Generally speaking a public or private property owner bears the responsibility of the general safety of anyone on his/her premises. A swimming pool poses additional hazards, therefore bears its own set of risks and precautions.
Failure to address and maintain proactive measures under any of the areas above can expose a home or business owner to full liability for any pool-related injuries occurring on the premises. In any cases in which an injury or death occurs, and the property owner is found to be deficient in the upkeep of the property, maintenance of available safety equipment, or duty to warn, the owner is likely to be found negligent and can be sued (successfully) for damages.
References
“Minimum Water Depths for Head First Diving From Pool Decks, Starting Blocks, Docks and Similar Low Fixed Platforms.” Newyorkstatedepartmentofhealth.gov. New York State Department of Health. n.d. Web. 22 Jul. 2013.
