Pennsylvania Swimming Pool Accident Lawyers
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently reported 55 drowning and 63 near-drowning accidents since the beginning of 2011. Around 76% of these fatalities are children under the age of 5. For those who survive near-drowning, many are left with permanent injuries like brain damage or spinal cord injury.
Pool safety remains a serious public health issue. The majority of pool-related injuries happen due to poor design, lack of supervision, alcohol and other drug use, inadequate maintenance of the facilities, and entrapment in powerful pool drains. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that a lack of barriers and fences around a pool is the most common risk factor for drowning and other pool-related injuries. In less than five minutes and 2 inches of water, a life could be lost. The CPSC continues to urge parents to watch children at all times around swimming pools and spas, and practice other safety steps such as learning water safety and rescue skills like CPR, and installing anti-entrapment pool and drain covers.
Risks of Pool Drain Covers
In 2008, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act was passed, which required pool owners to install anti-entrapment drain covers and other systems to prevent entrapment-type injuries and fatalities. Suction entrapment occurs when someone is trapped by the powerful suction of some types of drains. Other accidents occur where swimmers get trapped in defective drain covers, holding them underwater. Although this Act has been in place for several years, a poll of pool owners and operators indicated that 30% do not have the safety measures in place, required by the Act.
Diving Board Injuries
The CPSC estimated 11,000 diving and diving board injuries in 2001. Studies indicate about 169 spinal cord injuries occur annually from swimmers diving into pools, with 17 of those resulting from diving boards. Other accidents can arise from diving boards such as swimmers falling off slippery ladders, or slipping on a diving board that does not have the proper anti-slip surface. Diving board injuries, while they may be small compared to other hazardous activities, often result in catastrophic injuries that can require lifelong medical care like paralysis, brain damage, and spinal cord injuries. Diving injuries are often caused by factors making it difficult for swimmers to assess the depth and contour of the pool including, cloudy water from poor maintenance, absence of depth markings, and inadequate lighting in and around the pool.
To decrease you and your loved one’s risks of diving and diving board injuries, there are several precautions you may take:
- Never dive or use a diving board under the influence of alcohol
- Make sure to wait for other divers to move out of the way before you dive
- Never allow more than one person on a diving board at a time
- Dive in the deep end of the pool, never the shallow end
- Dive off the end of the board, not the side.
- Use proper diving techniques (out instead of down)
Philadelphia Premises Liability Attorneys
If you or a loved one has suffered a swimming pool, diving, or diving board accident you may be able to file a claim for premises liability, and help you receive financial compensation for injuries you may have suffered. Serious and catastrophic injuries caused by swimming pool accidents can require lifelong, expensive medical care, which is why you need a Pennsylvania swimming pool accident attorney who has experience winning premises liability cases.
Swimming pool accidents and litigation can be highly technical, which is why you need an attorney with experience and expertise in this field. Since 1958, the Philadelphia swimming pool accident attorneys at Reiff & Bily have been committed to fighting for the rights of those suffering from preventable injuries.
