Swimming Pool Accidents

Swimming Pool Accidents in Midland

Swimming pools can provide wonderful opportunities for recreation, relaxation and exercise – when they are adequately supervised and are equipped.  Swimmers can swim with little worry.  But in some cases, pools are not properly supervised, equipped or maintained and they can present a high risk for swimming pool accidents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that drowning ranks fifth as the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States.  Drowning is also the second leading cause of death among children ages 1-4; most of these toddler deaths occur in home swimming pool accidents.

For every child that dies in a swimming pool accident, another five need emergency care for nonfatal injuries while more than half of nonfatal injuries requiring hospitalization.  Unfortunately, many nonfatal injuries may be the end of normal life for the victim.  And all too often, severe brain damage occurs due to lack of oxygen, and many drowning victims suffer long-term disabilities such as memory problems and learning difficulties.  Submersion injuries can also lead to the permanent loss of basic functioning often ending with the victims entering into vegetative states.

Minimizing the Danger of Drowning

If you have pool on your property, there are many ways to secure your pool to keep children out of harm’s way and decrease the risk of adult drowning. Minimizing the danger can be easily achieved by doing all or some of the following:

• Teach your children how to swim; swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% in children ages one to four.
• Properly supervise all pool activities; in nearly 9 out of 10 child-drowning deaths, a parent or caregiver was watching the child.
• Install four-sided fencing that is at least four feet high; fencing can reduce the risk of drowning 50% – 90%.
• Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward while making sure to place the latches out of reach of small children.
• Install automatic door locks and alarms to alert you that someone has entered the pool area; 77% of all victims that drowned in a swimming pool were missing for five minutes or less, and 70% weren’t even expected to be in or near the pool at that time of their death.
• Clear the pool deck and pool of all toys, balls and floats that might entice a child to enter the pool area or pool.
• Learn CPR and always keep your skills up to date.

Zinda Law Group Can Help You

If your child or loved one has been involved in a swimming pool accident, the costs are high in terms of quality of life and medical care costs. The attorneys at Zinda Law Group are committed to helping you and your loved one recover the compensation that you need and that your loved one deserves. 

Medical costs of swimming pool accidents vary depending on the severity of injury, but costs can be thousands of dollars for even basic treatment with simple injuries.  Hospitalization and rehabilitation can be very costly, even with the best insurance plans out there, and severe submersion injuries will often lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.   Someone is going to need to pay for their care, and there may be an insurance policy, such as a homeowner’s policy, to cover accidents such as yours.

Call 800-863-5312 to get a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable swimming accident attorneys.