Who is Liable in a Swimming Pool or Drowning Accident?

For families with small children, swimming pool and drowning accidents are a very prominent fear. Not only are these types of accidents the second leading cause of accidental deaths in children between the ages of 1 and 4, but most of these preventable incidents happen in residential backyards. Many people do not realize how dangerous of a place their home can be when children are around, especially if they have not taken measures to enclose their pool.

Accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, and silently, so it is crucial that all homeowners take the appropriate steps to ensure a safe and secure environment for all visitors. Simply isolating a swimming pool from the rest of the yard with a fence can reduce the risk of injury and/or death anywhere from 50 percent to 90 percent.

In the event that a drowning accident does occur, however, who is liable for providing the victim or their family with compensation? Well, in the state of North Carolina, all property owners are responsible for providing their visitors with a hazard-free environment. This means that those who own a home or a business are subject to the same premises liability laws—and concurrently that public and private pools must both be kept up to the proper standards.

If, for example, a public pool owner did not provide the appropriate amount of lifeguards on a busy summer day and a child was subsequently injured in a drowning accident, the victim may have grounds to pursue compensation. Similarly, if a residential homeowner did not take the appropriate steps to supervise children playing around a pool, they could be held liable for any harm that was caused as a result.

For this reason, you should not hesitate to contact a Raleigh personal injury attorney at Whitley Law Firm if you or your child has been injured in a negligently caused swimming pool accident.