Handling Cases Nationwide
A family outing to the local lake can quickly turn into a nightmare if a child gets too close to the water or becomes injured while swimming and drowns. Statistics show that children are at a heightened risk of drowning in bodies of water such as lakes. These events are devastating for families; even if the child survives, the victim’s family is often left with expensive medical bills, time that must be missed from work, and other financial and nonfinancial losses. Because most lakes are owned by government entities, recovering compensation can be even more difficult.
Unlike suing a neighbor for failing to enclose his or her pool, there are often a variety of individuals who are responsible in some way for a lake drowning. It takes the skill and knowledge of an experienced lake drowning attorney to investigate your claim and hold all responsible parties accountable for the injuries and losses they caused.
Who Might Be Responsible for a Lake Drowning?
The facts and circumstances of your individual case will determine who might be responsible for causing or contributing to a lake drowning. There are often more than one at fault party, and identifying all responsible parties is an integral part of obtaining full compensation for your losses. Potential parties responsible for your lake drowning injuries may include:
A boater or jet ski rider:
Who operated his or her craft in a careless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and who struck you or your loved one or created a dangerous wake that drowned your loved one;
A government agency:
If that government agency owns the lake and did not post warning signs near the lake or did not allow for enough space to exist between swimmers and watercraft;
A lifeguard and his or her employer:
If the lifeguard was distracted while on the job or did not take sufficient measures to rescue your loved one. In addition, a lifeguard may also be responsible for paying compensation if he or she injured your loved one because he or she performed CPR improperly or administered improper first aid.
Potential Problems with your Lake Drowning Lawsuit
If a government agency is found to have played a role in your lake drowning accident, you may encounter additional hurdles to obtaining compensation. Most every state has a statute that sets forth the procedure that injury victims must follow if they want to bring a lawsuit against the government or an agency of the government. These statutes set out specific steps and timeframes within which these steps must be completed. The failure to meet these deadlines and/or complete these steps can result in your claim being denied and your ability to recover compensation from the government foreclosed.
Your lake drowning attorney should be thoroughly familiar with these “tort claims” laws in the state in which you or your loved one was injured. Your attorney will be able to ensure that your case complies with these requirements and your claim against the government or an agency thereof can proceed with minimal disruption.
Trust Zinda Law Group for Experienced Legal Counsel
After a drowning or near-drowning at a lake, contact Zinda Law Group for assistance right away. The sooner you contact us and retain us to represent your interests, the sooner we can take swift action to locate and preserve important evidence and witnesses. We have helped numerous drowning and near-drowning victims and their families and will bring our knowledge and experience to help you as well. Contact our office today at 800-863-5312 to set up a case evaluation with one of our experienced attorneys.
