Swimming Pool Injury Lawsuit in California
Swimming pools and other water recreation should be all fun in the sun, but they sometimes end up in a tragic injury. Swimming pool drownings and accidents in Los Angeles and throughout the state of California are common.
Falling into a swimming pool or near-drowning has the potential to cause serious brain injury, cognitive dysfunction, paralysis, life-long disability, or even death.
But when a swimming pool accident results in serious injury, all is not lost.
Compensation may well be available from the liability insurer of the pool's owner or operator or other responsible persons and entities.
If you or a family member or friend have suffered an injury in a swimming pool or other water-recreation accident, then contact our personal injury lawyers for a prompt claim review.
Our team is deeply committed to assisting victims of negligence or premises liability in obtaining compensation for their injuries. We are here to support you every step of the way and hold the responsible parties accountable.
Swimming Pool Injury Patterns
Drowning deaths and nonfatal injuries from drowning are a major concern. The CDC recently reported an average of 3,536 non-boating-related drownings in the U.S. every year for the decade studied. That's about ten every day. One out of five of those deaths involved a child under the age of fourteen.
The same CDC report found many more nonfatal drowning injuries, some causing:
- learning disabilities,
- memory loss, and
- even permanent loss of basic functions due to severe brain damage.
Another CDC report shares that drowning is the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury death among all age groups and the second leading cause among children aged fourteen or under.
Common Causes of Swimming Pool Accidents
But drownings and nonfatal drowning-related brain damage are not the only swimming pool accident losses. Serious, permanent, and disabling injuries, for which compensation may be available, can also occur from:
- diving, jumping, and slide accidents;
- slip or trip and fall on pool deck surfaces;
- pool-equipment electrocution burns and cut hazards;
- pool-chemical burns, inhalation, and other reactions;
- other users under over-crowded or age-inappropriate conditions;
- security lapses resulting in sexual assault or other violence;
- failure to enforce alcohol, drug, and gun bans;
- broken bottles and other glass;
- infections and other diseases from unsanitary conditions.
Diving accidents are an unusually severe and hidden hazard. Pool depths can appear deceptive, and depths change around many pools, making diving safe here but not there.
When a diver's head strikes the bottom of a pool, the force can break the neck, causing lifelong paralysis. Chemical injuries are another hidden hazard. One CDC report shows thousands of emergency department visits annually related to pool chlorine or other pool chemical injuries. Pool hazards are significant. The injuries they cause are often severe.
Proving a Swimming Pool Accident Claim
Our personal injury lawyers are well-versed in investigating and proving swimming pool accident claims, ensuring a thorough and comprehensive process.
Homeowners with swimming pools and operators of commercial or public pools or other water recreation venues typically have liability insurance against which to make a claim. Identifying the responsible party and that party's liability insurer is a sound first step.
Negligence
Claims, though, depend on a liability theory. The law does not generally award money solely because of the injury. Negligence is the primary liability theory relating to pool accidents.
However, proving negligence in a pool accident is a complex process that requires experience and special litigation skills. It involves demonstrating that the pool owner or operator failed to uphold a reasonable standard of care, which directly led to the accident and subsequent injuries.
Chemical burns
Whether the accident relates to diving, chemicals, equipment hazards, overcrowding, or violence, the claim must prove the breach of a care standard. Take a pool chemical injury case.
Because of the many ingestion, inhalation, and burn injuries from unsafe levels of chlorine or other pool chemicals, the CDC report mentioned above promotes a Model Aquatic Health Code that sets standards for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and management of swimming pools and other aquatic venues.
While the standards are voluntary unless local authorities adopt them to give them the force of law, they nonetheless set a standard for reasonable care, the violation of which may be negligence.
Hire The Best Personal Injury Lawyer
At the Injury Justice Law Firm, our personal injury attorneys are well-versed in the complexities of proving swimming pool accident claims. We understand that liability insurers require a strong liability theory that juries are likely to accept, and we have the experience and resources to develop and present such theories.
They settle for the claim's full value only when we show their insured did something seriously wrong that resulted in substantial loss to the claimant. Swimming pool accident claims can be challenging to prove. Defendants and their liability insurers will argue that the water's hazards were open and it was obvious and that the injury was the claimant's fault.
Those defenses are why anyone making a swimming pool claim needs more than a lawyer, who usually handles only simple auto accident cases. Our attorneys possess the knowledge, skill, and experience, along with the resources and reputation, to develop strong liability theories and secure full compensation in swimming pool accident cases. You can trust us to handle your case with the utmost professionalism and care.
Once we review and agree to take your case, we will investigate, prepare, and present the claim with no fee unless you recover.
During this evaluation, we will review the details of your case, discuss your legal options, and provide an initial assessment of the potential outcomes. We represent clients throughout Southern California, including Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Call our firm at (818) 781-1570 now for a free case evaluation, or contact us online.
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