San Francisco Accident Attorneys

Each and every year, over 3,500 people die in unintentional drownings in the United States. More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children aged 14 and younger. For every child who dies from drowning, another four receive care at hospital emergency rooms for nonfatal submersion injuries. Non-fatal drowning can cause brain injuries that may result in long-term disabilities, ranging from memory problems or learning disabilities to a permanent loss of basic functioning (i.e., a permanent vegetative state). Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14.

The majority of drownings occur on private property, in the homeowner’s backyard pool or pond. Other common sites for drowning deaths and injuries include the pool or Jacuzzi of an apartment complex, a fitness club, or a hotel or motel. Public pools are also frequently the site of drowning deaths or injuries. Parks that contain lakes or ponds are also the scene of such deaths and injuries. Swimming or playing in the ocean or a lake can lead to tragic consequences.

A private homeowner who has a backyard pool or pond can be held legally responsible (“liable”) for drowning deaths and injuries due to lack of proper supervision of swimmers, failure to comply with codes regarding barriers and fences around the pool, failing to have a working self-closing and self-latching gate to keep out uninvited guests, particularly children, and failure to have a drain lid that prevents a swimmer’s hands or feet from getting caught in it, and violation of other city, county, and state requirements designed to make a swimming pool safer.

Special rules apply to drowning deaths and injuries that occur in public pools or on other public property. As for public pools, California law requires lifeguards to be provided for “any public swimming pool that is of wholly artificial construction and for the use of which a direct fee is charged.” As regards other public swimming pools, such as naturally occurring or that is only partially of artificial construction, California law requires that lifeguard services be provided or signs be posted clearly indicating that lifeguards are not provided.

Sometimes a person joining a health club or other private entity is required to sign a “release of liability” that purports to prohibit lawsuits against the private entity for injuries or deaths in the private pool and jacuzzi resulting from the ordinary carelessness (“negligence”) of its employees. These releases are generally invalid in court, as a person generally cannot avoid legal responsibility (“liability”) for his or her future negligence.

Private landowners, hotels, motels, clubs and associations whose land borders a public lake or ocean generally cannot be held liable for failing to warn its guests or members of the dangers of swimming or playing in the public lake or ocean, even if the landowner knows that it is dangerous to do so. The reason for this rule is that the private landowner does not own or control the beach, and accordingly they are not responsible for injuries that take place in the ocean or public lake.

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