Swimming Pool Risks and Florida Law

Swimming pools are everywhere in Florida, and many native Floridians’ earliest memory of feeling like competent readers is when they read the safety rules on a sign posted at a swimming pool at a park, motel, or apartment complex or at a school that doubled as a summer camp.  The sign probably said “No diving” and “No running” in big letters near the top of the sign.  Even though swimming pools are a familiar part of life in Florida, they are still the cause of many preventable accidents each year where children suffer serious injuries or worse.  Most of these accidents happen when children swim in pools without adult supervision.  Pools are a hazard even in the states where the weather is only suitable for swimming in the summer, but the number of accidents is even higher in Florida, where the weather is right for year-round swimming.  If your child got injured at a swimming pool because of inadequate lifeguard staffing, , contact a Jacksonville premises liability lawyer.

Swimming Pool Accidents and Premises Liability

The USA Today website published the results of interviews by emergency room doctors about the most dangerous activities that commonly lead to young people needing emergency medical treatment.  Activities the doctors cited include staying outdoors in excessive heat, riding a bicycle without a helmet, riding ATVs, and getting too close to lawnmowers.   Above all of these, though, ER doctors agree that children going to swimming pools without adult supervision is the most dangerous summer recreational activity.

The owners of swimming pools open to paying guests, such as pools at hotels and public pools where visitors can pay for a day of swimming or a season pass, are legally responsible for accidents that happen at the pools.  This means that they are responsible for having lifeguards on duty at all times and to ensure that the pool chemical levels, as well as equipment such as diving boards or inner tubes, are in safe condition.  People who get injured because of preventable accidents at swimming pools, including lack of lifeguard staffing, may sue the owner of the pool for premises liability.

The Attractive Nuisance Law

The owners of private residences can also be legally liable for accidents that occur in swimming pools on their property.  Some of these premises liability claims invoke the attractive nuisance doctrine, which states that the owners of swimming pools and other potentially fun but dangerous items must secure their property to make the hazards inaccessible to children who might try to enter the area without the owner’s permission.  Premises liability laws generally do not protect adult trespassers on private property, so the age of the uninvited visitor who gets injured at a home swimming pool matters in premises liability cases.

Contact Douglas & Douglas About Premises Liability Cases

A North Florida personal injury lawyer can help you if you were injured in a preventable accident at a swimming pool.  Contact Douglas & Douglas in Jacksonville, Florida for a free consultation.

Source:

yahoo.com/lifestyle/5-summer-activities-er-doctors-231005936.html