Drowning Accidents – Know Your Legal Rights
Apr 7th, 2009 by Legal Staff
Every year, millions of Americans enjoy the recreational activity of swimming. It may be in their own pool, a neighbor’s pool, a municipal pool, or a water park, or it may be in a natural or artificial lake or river that permits recreational swimming. Unfortunately, over 3,500 people die in unintentional drownings each year. More than one in four drowning victims are children aged 14 or younger. And if a drowning victim is revived by lifeguards or paramedics, the victim may suffer from serious brain injuries due to the period of time that his or her brain was oxygen-deprived. This may result in long-term disabilities, ranging from memory problems or learning disabilities to a permanent loss of basic functioning, that is, the victim is left in a permanent vegetative state.
The most common place of drowning is in a homeowner’s private backyard pool, Jacuzzi, or pond. Other frequent places for drowning deaths and injuries include public pools, and the swimming pools or spas of apartment complexes, hotels and motels, or fitness clubs. Public parks that contain lakes or ponds are other common sites of drowning accidents. Swimming or playing in the ocean or a lake can lead to tragic consequences. Special rules apply to drownings in publicly-owned or maintained waterways, such as public lakes, rivers, the ocean, bays, and other waterways that are due to the natural condition of the area that makes it dangerous to swim or play in.
A drowning may occur for a number of reasons: a person who can’t swim gets in water over his or her head; a young unsupervised child falls into a swimming pool; lifeguards at a crowded public pool fail to see the submerged body of a swimmer in distress; an experienced swimmer suffers muscle cramps; or the person drowns as the result of a collision or accident involving boats or personal watercraft such as Jet Skis.
A significant number of swimming pool drownings occur when the swimmer gets a finger or toe stuck in the grate over the drain and cannot free himself or herself. Or the drain cover is missing entirely, resulting in a swimmer’s arm or leg being stuck in the open pipe. Swimming pools constructed today generally have drain covers that are designed to prevent hands, fingers, toes, and feet from being caught in the drain cover, but there are hundreds of thousands of older pools that still have the dangerous old drain coverings or no covering at all.
A swimming pool owner/operator or an amusement park that allows people to swim in their pools often requires its prospective swimmers to sign a release or waiver of liability (also called a “hold harmless” agreement) before allowing the person to use the swimming pool. In such a release, the prospective swimmer agrees not to sue the swimming pool owner/operator for injuries or death even if such injuries or death were caused by the action, inaction, carelessness, or negligence of the swimming pool owner/operator or its employees.
There are a number of legal criteria the release or waiver of liability must meet to be enforceable, so you should contact an experienced personal injury law firm if you have lost a loved one in a drowning to get an opinion as to the court’s likelihood of upholding the release. If it is legally valid, a release or waiver of liability can protect the owner/operator of the swimming pool or amusement park only from the ordinary carelessness (“negligence”) of its employees or the condition of its premises. The owner/operator of the swimming pool or amusement park cannot, however, limit its liability for more serious conduct than simple “ordinary” negligence, such as gross negligence or intentional (deliberate) misconduct. “Gross negligence” is defined as either a lack of even scant care or an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct. In layman terms, ordinary negligence may be defined as general carelessness, while gross negligence may be defined as recklessness, a higher level of misconduct.
Slaughter & Slaughter has experience in diligently representing clients who have lost a loved one in a drowning accident or who has suffered serious brain damage as the result of a near-drowning. We understand the financial, emotional, and psychological toll a drowning accident takes on the family of a drowning victim. Call now for a free consultation 415.738.7672
