Drowning Accident Lawyers in Denver, Colorado

Talk With a Zinda Law Group Denver drowning accident lawyer at (800) 863-5312

Denver, also known as the Mile High City, is nestled comfortably in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. While Denver is not thought of as one of the warmest cities in the United States, people who live there still enjoy cooling off in their pools during the summer months. Pools come with a lot of different responsibilities and duties to swimmers. If something terrible has happened and someone you care about has drowned, Denver drowning accident lawyers can help you determine next steps.

If a loved one drowned in Denver, or if you suffered a non-fatal drowning, talk to a Zinda Law Group injury lawyer. Our professionals are here to answer your questions about your situation through a free consultation. Call (800) 863-5312 to talk with our compassionate attorneys.

Why talk WITH a Personal injury attorney in Denver?

Personal injury attorneys are advocates for the interests of their clients. They do their best to convince a court and a jury that their client suffered an injury due to the negligence of the defendant. A personal injury claim can be quite complicated to litigate, and it is strongly recommended that you work with an experienced attorney if you’ve suffered an injury caused by the negligence of someone else. Here is how a Colorado personal injury lawyer can help you:

Filing with the Court

Prior to taking any action, speak with an attorney to determine how to proceed. Call an attorney for an initial consultation, and he or she will likely be able to give you an estimate of your chances of receiving compensated. After this, your attorney will help you decide which parties you could bring a claim against, since multiple parties can be liable. For a drowning, this could be the pool owner, an insurance company, the lifeguard, or others.

Crafting your Case

Your lawyer will want to gather as many facts as possible to make your case as strong as it can be. To help with this, try to record as many critical facts as you can, as well as the location of the accident, the names of those involved, and anything else you can remember. Your attorney will exchange this information with the defendant’s attorney, and this can help to support your settlement offer.

Finding a Fair Settlement

When a defendant is sued, they will want to limit their liability as much as possible. This is especially true when an insurance company will be responsible for the payment. The defendant’s attorney might try to argue that you or your loved one assumed the risks of drowning or that you contributed to the accident in some way. These are just a few defenses common in personal injury claims.

Trying to fend off all of these claims by yourself is a big undertaking. A Colorado personal injury lawyer will work with you to counter these defenses and keep your claim as strong as it can be  so you can pursue fair compensation. Of course, it is always a possibility that you will not be able to agree upon a settlement amount with the other party, in which case you will have to go to trial.

Getting the Most from Your Claim

Compensation in a settlement offer is based on two different types of damages – economic and non-economic. The former includes obvious costs arising from your injury, such as  missed wages from the time you were not able to work, funeral costs, and any medical bills. Non-economic damages include other kinds of costs like pain and suffering from the emotional trauma of the event.

Your next steps after a drowning in Denver

In any emergency, ensuring the health and safety of the victim is the biggest priority.. Here’s what you should do if a loved one is involved in a drowning accident:

Restoring the Victim’s Breathing Pattern

The first step in any drowning accident is getting the victim to breathe again. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, is the most common technique to restore breathing, and most lifeguards are trained in CPR. If no lifeguard is present, ask if someone at the scene knows CPR and would be willing to perform it on the victim. Never give up too quickly, as individuals who have been unresponsive and unconscious for some time can be brought back with persistence.

While CPR is being performed on the drowning victim, make sure that you or someone else at the scene of the accident alerts emergency services. Call 911 as soon as possible so professionals can arrive quickly. CPR is often not the last step of care that a victim needs, so the sooner he or she can receive care at a hospital, the better.

When you receive medical treatment, record the name of the doctor or hospital that you visited and get written records of any medical diagnoses or treatments provided. This will help to show the extent of the injuries and prove damages.

Returning to the Site of the Accident

Returning to the scene of the accident is critical. While this can come with some emotional trauma for you, if you are able to do so, it can provide critical evidence in proving your case. By coming back to the site with a critical eye, you can see if the swimming facility has proper signage and learn whether there was any indication that a lifeguard was on duty.

The more documentation you can provide, the better. Take pictures and speak  with any people who were present on the day of the accident. Obtain their contact information and give it to your attorney so that they may interview them. If your attorney decides that they would make credible witnesses in your case, they can help support your claims.

Where do drownings in Denver happen?

Drownings can happen anywhere. When young children are involved, the risks are even higher since they can drown in as little as one to two inches of water. Of course, not all locations are equally risky. Some spots, especially those where parents tend to feel that someone else is watching their children, can be the riskiest. Below is a non-exhaustive list of locations where drowning accidents can occur:

Pools Owned by Homeowners and Businesses

Swimming pools are a popular attraction across America. While Denver has a relatively mild climate, the summer months can still get quite warm in the city, and many residents do like to take a dip in the pool to refresh themselves. Many homeowners in the city have their own pools, and these can pose a significant risk. Pools are considered an attractive nuisance for children if they are unfenced, and homeowners can be found liable for any drownings that occur.

Many businesses in the Denver area operate pools as well, either as an amenity for members or as their primary business offering. While community pools can be fun, the operators of these facilities need to follow the industry’s best practices when hiring and training staff such as lifeguards. Businesses should follow other safety features too, such as having proper signage and warnings about any dangerous features.

Multi-Family Pools

If you have ever lived in an apartment or condominium, chances are you had access to a pool or hot tub. Many apartment complexes give their residents pools as a bonus, one more reason to move to their community. While this is nice, is does not mean that they do not owe their residents and the community-at-large a duty of care. As mentioned above, pool operators have to conform to certain safety rules, such as restricting access to the site to approved visitors and providing warnings and other signage.

Entertainment Facilities

No one expects disaster when they take their family out for a fun day at an amusement park. But these facilities often have amenities that, while extremely fun for kids, can present their own risks. Wave riders, wave pools, and water slides can be lethal if children are not closely supervised while they are enjoying them. These facilities need to provide their lifeguards and emergency personnel with proper training to maintain a safe environment.

Beaches

While Denver is about as landlocked as a city can get, residents can still find some sandy areas for relaxation. Confluence Park is just one great example of a sandy beach located right in the city. Just because a beach typically has shallow waters does not mean it is not a drowning risk. Tides in creeks, rivers, and lakes can drag swimmers out too far from shore or under the water before they know what is happening.

Public Property

Colorado limits the types of torts that citizens can sue for. This is a doctrine called sovereign immunity. Despite this, Colorado does allow liability for negligent actions of its officials, and drowning accidents are included under the law. As with many areas of the law, there are exceptions to the exceptions, so check with your lawyer before suing a state- or city-owned pool or lake.

WHO IS AT FAULT? 

After a tragedy occurs, many people want to assign blame. Filing a claim will require an extremely detailed analysis of everything that happened on the day of the accident, and your attorney will need to do a lot of investigation and research to make as strong of a claim for you as possible.  No one can answer whether you will be able to recover your damages without hearing the specifics of your case, but there are some common factors that courts will consider when deciding whether to find in your favor:

Commercial Pool Owners

Businesses operating pools and swimming facilities invite the public onto their property. This comes with a duty of care to provide a safe environment for patrons. These businesses must bring potential dangers to the attention of swimmers, and in some cases, they are required by law to have lifeguards on site to watch out for any emergencies.

Just because a lifeguard is present does not mean that the lifeguard performed his or her duties up to par. Sometimes, the lifeguard’s inattention or inexperience mean that a minor issue turns into a major one. In situations where the lifeguard is at fault, the legal doctrine of respondeat superior dictates that their employer can be found liable for their negligence. Speak with your attorney to see if this applies in your situation.

Private Pool Owners

Many drownings occur at privately owned facilities that are not open to the public. Friends love to invite their friends to come swim with them, and some parents do not provide adequate supervision when children are in or around the water. In these situations, it is possible that the host could be liable for any drownings that occurred.

Just because a pool is privately owned does not mean that the owner does not owe a duty of care to the community. Often, pool owners are expected to construct a fence around their property. This is because, even when a child trespasses onto private property to access the pool, the owner can still be held liable for that child’s drowning.

Talk to a Denver drowning accident lawyer at zinda law group

Zinda Law Group is here to help if you or a loved one has experienced a drowning accident in the Denver area. Please call today to speak with one of our experienced Colorado personal injury attorneys who will talk through all the relevant details from your case and help you pursue maximum compensation.

Our attorneys are here for your every step of the way after a drowning accident.  Call Zinda Law Group now at (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation with a knowledgeable drowning accident lawyer in Denver.

Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.