With summer here, our child injury lawyers want to remind parents and guardians
to take the precautions necessary to make sure that children are properly
supervised when swimming and pools are properly maintained and secured
when no one is around to decrease the chances of accidental drownings.
While in the past, our products liability lawyer blog has focused on the
dangers of in ground swimming pools and hot tubs, now, we’d like
to make you aware of the drowning dangers also posed by inflatable pools.
You wouldn’t think a pool that above ground and no more than several
inches in height as a safety hazard, but according to a new study in the
American Academy of Pediatrics, portable backyard pools pose a “significant
risk” for drowning to kids under age 5.
Meantime, Consumer Reports is encouraging people to stop buying inflatable
pools. The publication reports that in the last decade, at least 209 kids
have died in inflatable pools. 94% of these drowning victims were kids
under age 5.
Some reasons why portable why backyard pools are a a drowning hazard:
- Most inflatable pools don’t have layers of protection that generally accompany a regular swimming pools, such as a pool cover, a safety fence, or a locked pool door with an accompanying alarm to warn when anyone has entered the water unsupervised.
- Many inflatable pools are not drained of water after use.
- The pool’s inflatable, pliable sides can make it easy for a child standing outside to slip in.
Drowning Accidents
If someone you love drowned in an inflatable pool, there may be parties
who should be held liable. For instance, was the pool located on someone
else’s property? Was the inflatable pool adequately supervised so
that no one could go in undetected? Did the pool manufacture warn that
inflatable pools could cause drowning injuries and provide information
about how to prevent these accidents from happening?
It takes just inches of water for someone to drown. Drowning is the second
leading cause of child deaths.
Our child injury lawyers represent children and their families with drowning
accident cases against negligent pool owners and products liability complaints
against pool manufacturers.
Portable, inflatable pools — a significant risk, Consumer Reports,
June 20, 2011
PORTABLE POOLS CLAIM OVER 200 CHILDREN’S LIVES, American Academy
of Pediatrics, June 20, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Drowning Prevention, SafeKids USA
Kids’ Swimming Safety, LiveStrong
CPSC
Contact our drowning accident law firm today.
