Greater Boston Area Personal Injury • Premises Liability • Wrongful Death Attorneys
Small children are especially susceptible to accidental drownings in swimming pools because—contrary to what you see in movies or on TV—a drowning child won’t necessarily yell out, thrash around, or flail his arms to call attention to his plight. That’s why swimming pools frequented by children (such as those at summer camps and municipal facilities) must employ proactive, well-trained lifeguards, who can spot trouble as soon as it happens—and not rely on other swimmers to alert them to a potentially life-threatening situation.
If a summer camp or municipal swimming pool is equipped with a diving board, this multiplies the opportunities for serious injury. Pool staff must be extremely careful to segregate recreational swimmers from the diving end of the pool (imagine the outcome when one child executes a cannonball on top of another child’s head), and to supervise children climbing up the diving board ladder, to prevent kids from being jostled off the ladder or board.
Swimming pool liability doesn’t only extend to the inside of the pool; the pool’s perimeter must also be supervised and properly maintained. At municipal facilities, prominent warnings should be posted around the pool (for the benefit of unwary parents), and all swimming pools should have adequate fencing or other types of boundaries, to keep curious children from sneaking into the pool during off-hours. In addition, all pools should be equipped with the necessary alarm equipment, and their drains and pumps should be well-maintained and secured. (You may have read about the gruesome accident in 2007, in Minneapolis, when a six-year-old girl sustained severe internal injuries from an uncovered pool drain.)
If your child has been injured—or, god forbid, has drowned—in a swimming pool accident at a summer camp or municipal facility, there are numerous people who can be held accountable. Since most lifeguards are practically children themselves (lifeguarding is an especially popular job choice among teens and college students), it’s the responsibility of the pool’s owners to make sure that lifeguards are properly trained and supervised, and that ineffective lifeguards are terminated. If an accident has been caused by faulty equipment, you may be able to hold the manufacturer, or repair people, liable. In rare cases, you may even be able to collect damages from the parents of a child who maliciously, rather than accidentally, caused a swimming pool death or injury.
Aggressive Legal Representation • Free Consultation • Brockton Massachusetts Accidental Drowning Lawyer
Proving cases involving accidental drowning requires the skills of an experienced and aggressive trial lawyer. Our lawyers know building codes and all the legal requirements and responsibilities of swimming pool owners, which includes in-ground, above-ground, and even for temporary inflatable on-ground pools, as well as hot tubs, saunas, and Jacuzzis.
If you, or someone you love was seriously injured in a swimming or diving accident, or you lost a loved on in a fatal water related accident, we can help you get civil justice for your losses. For a free, no-obligation consultation, contact our Brockton personal injury and wrongful death attorneys today. There is a statute of limitations for filing claims, so the sooner you call our law firm, the sooner we can help you.
More Information About Drowning Accidents
Every year, across the nation, hundreds of children drown in public, residential, or summer-camp swimming pools and hot tubs, and thousands more are seriously injured in swimming, diving, and boating accidents. In addition to pool accidents, during the crowded summer months, many drownings occur on Massachusetts’ numerous beaches, often because of improper supervision by lifeguards or no supervision at all.
- Beach Accidents and Drowning
- Residential Swimming Pool, Hot Tub, Wading Pool Drowning
- Accident Drowning Involving A Child
- Males and Children Ages 1-4 Have The Highest Risk Of Accidental Drowning
Our Drowning Accident Lawyers assist drowning victims throughout all of Massachusetts including but not limited to Plymouth County, Brockton, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Marshfield, Hingham, Duxbury, Wareham, Abington, Rockland, Whitman, Hanson, Holbrook, Middleborough; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Avon, Holbrook, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Brookline, Franklin; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Westport, Dartmouth, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham, Lakeville, Norton; Cape Cod, Hyannis, Falmouth, Barnstable and the Greater Boston area including Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, Dorchester, Roxbury.