The Three Worst Swimming Pool Accident Injuries

A backyard swimming pool is one of the most popular forms of recreation in the country. Over ten million Americans have a backyard pool. This fun activity, like all fun activities, has a dark side. If owners properly maintain their swimming pools and prioritize safety above everything else, the dark side is more of a gray side, because injury risks are minimal. When owners fall short, people get hurt.

If the unthinkable happens, a Seattle premises liability lawyer works hard to obtain the compensation swimming pool injury victims need and deserve. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Drownings

The brain must have a strong, steady oxygen supply to function properly. A lack of oxygen causes hypoxia, a condition close to strangulation. When hypoxia sets in, to compensate for the lack of oxygen, the brain starts shutting down parts of the body.

This process usually begins with the extremities, like fingers and toes. Then, the shutdown process quickly affects much more vital organs, including the brain itself, or at least parts of the brain.

Hypoxia-induced organ shutdown happens quickly. Five minutes below the waves is normally fatal.

Poor maintenance or inadequate supervision, or some combination of the two, usually causes swimming pool drowning injuries.

As for maintenance, if the pool drains are too strong, they cause an invisible riptide that literally pulls swimmers under the water, even if they’re strong, experienced swimmers. As for supervision, the owner has a legal duty to properly supervise all his/her property, including the swimming pool, and ensure the environment is safe. More on that below.

Common defenses in these claims include comparative negligence (it was someone else’s fault the victim drowned) and assumption of the risk (a “Swim At Your Own Risk” or other warning sign).

Poisonings

Much like drownings, swimming pool poisonings are usually related to poor maintenance or supervision.

Owners use chlorine and other toxic chemicals to clean their pools. If the chlorine level is too high, swimmers could sustain serious chemical burns. If the chemical level is too low, bacteria grows and multiplies in the warm water.

Usually, a Seattle personal injury lawyer can obtain maximum compensation for these injuries, even if a pre-existing condition contributed to the risk and/or severity of injury.

Falls

These injuries are very common on wet pool decks, especially at night. As is the case with the other injuries mentioned above, the owner normally has a legal duty to address injury hazards.

Most social guests are invitees. The owner allows them in the pool and the owner benefits because of their presence. Parties are fun for everyone. In these situations, the owner has a duty of reasonable care to ensure safety. The owner cannot delegate this duty to a child’s parent or other third party.

Partial invitee cases muddy the waters (pardon the pun). For example, Tony might invite guests over for dinner and tell them not to go in the pool.

Additionally, the owner must know about the injury hazard. So, the owner must know about the wet spot or other fall hazard. Direct evidence and circumstantial evidence (when wet kids walk on decks, the deck gets wet) is admissible on this point.

Work With a Compassionate King County Lawyer

Swimming pool owners have important safety responsibilities. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Seattle, contact Emerald Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.