Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths for children ages 1 to 14 in the United States. For every one child who drowns, another four children receive medical treatment in emergency departments for submersion-related injuries. Most alarming is many of these deaths and injuries occur when children are under the supervision of an adult!
Diving into pools also presents a great opportunity for serious injuries, such as paralysis. About 16,000 young people under the age of 16 are hospitalized because of diving injuries each year, and one in five of them will suffer a severe spinal cord injury. Residential swimming pool accounts for a significant number of these diving injuries.
According to the American Institutes for Research, 30.8% of all aquatic-related accidents occur in pools rather than natural bodies of water. Most of the diving injuries occur not from diving boards, but from dives into shallow water.
Another danger associated with pools is the risk of entrapment or evisceration in pool drains, i.e. child’s hair gets caught in a drain at the bottom of a spa or pool, etc. These risks lead to the passage of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act in 2007, which mandates certain types of pool drain covers to eliminate or reduce the risk of entrapment.
Here are some safety guidelines to remain safe during pool activity:
For more information on how you can make your pool a safer place for the entire family visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely website.
Tort liability in personal injury cases is most often based on acts of negligence, but there are exceptions. Sometimes the responsible party is held to the strict liability tort standard, meaning that a finding of negligence or malicious intent is not required. The most common types of strict liability tort cases are based on: Product […]
A negligence-based lawsuit against a school can have unique complications, depending on the type of institution it is. Overall, teachers, school administrators, and other staff have a “duty of care,” meaning they must take reasonable steps to avoid and prevent circumstances likely to cause personal injury to a student. Some reasons you might want to […]
In February of this year, a bill was introduced by Assembly Member Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) that would have it illegal for law enforcement officials to engage in “motorcycle profiling.” The successful passing of this bill likely would have had a significant impact on future California motorcycle accident cases. Co-authored by Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin Mullin (D-South San […]