Protecting Your Children From Pool Dangers This Summer
Whether it's the school pool, a water park or a neighbor's pool, both parents and children need to be aware of the dangers that may be lurking at the local pool.

July 31, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Protecting Your Children From Pool Dangers This Summer

Article provided by Law Office of Michels & Watkins
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Summer is here and Los Angeles-area children are flocking to local swimming pools to escape the heat. Whether it's the school pool, a water park or a neighbor's pool, both parents and children need to be aware of the dangers that may be lurking at the local pool.

According to the California Department of Public Health, 363 people died in 2007 from accidental drowning in the state. Nationally, children under 5 years of age are at the highest risk of dying from drowning. In California, drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for children ages 1-4.

Parents who believe these drownings must have occurred when the children weren't being properly supervised would be wrong. Statistics from the Drowning Prevention Foundation show that 19% of children who drown do so at public pools with a lifeguard present.

Parents also shouldn't be lulled into a sense of safety when their kids are using their school's swimming pool. Currently, Los Angeles County does not require school districts to have a lifeguard on duty during physical education courses. This means that the only person potentially watching over your child during this time is a P.E. teacher, who may or may not have the necessary water-safety and CPR training to prevent a drowning and save your child's life.

What can parents do to protect their children?

Every summer, there will be more than one family in California that has to deal with the loss of a child from drowning. It is important for parents to take every step they can to prevent a drowning tragedy from happening to their family. Some of these steps include:
-Never leave your child unattended anywhere near water, whether it's a pool, hot tub, the ocean, a lake or even a bathtub or kiddie pool. Young children can drown in literally inches of water.
-Take your children to swimming classes, but realize this is not a fool-proof way to ensure your children do not become drowning victims; 25% of all people who drown knew how to swim.
-Parents also should know how to swim and how to correctly perform CPR. This also goes for anyone else the child may be left with, including relatives and babysitters.
-If the child is visiting at a home with a pool, make sure it has appropriate drowning safety mechanisms, like fencing and locked gates. California law requires pools remodeled or built after January 1, 2007 to have appropriate safety mechanisms, but older pools may not have them.

It is estimated that 50% of child drownings occur in residential pools. Of those, 65% occur at the child's own home. Currently, the Swimming Pool Safety Act -- encoded in sections 115920-115929 of California's Health and Safety Code -- requires homeowners to have only one of the following safety mechanisms. To truly protect their children and others, homeowners should use a combination of the following safety precautions:
-Fencing or another type of enclosure around the pool that measures at least 60 inches high and allows a space of no greater than 2 inches from the ground to the start of the enclosure (§ 115922(a)(1))
-A self-closing, self-latching gate to the pool entrance that also has a lock and alarm; the latch to the gate should be at least 54 inches off the ground to prevent a child from reaching it (§ 115922(a)(2))
-A safety pool cover that is on the pool at all times when the pool is not in use (§ 115922(a)(3))
-Exit alarms on any doors that lead directly to the pool area (§ 115922(a)(4))
-Alarms or other sensors on the pool itself that detect accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water (§ 115922(a)(6))

Unfortunately, even parents who take all of the proper safety precautions, educate their children on water safety and always keep an eye on them in the water still can suffer the ultimate loss.

Your Legal Options

If the unthinkable happens and your child is the victim of a drowning or a near-drowning, there are legal options available to you. The type of legal action that ultimately may be pursued depends on the specific facts of your case. Some of the options that may be available include:

Negligence action: if your child was hurt or drowned at a public pool, you may be able to pursue a claim for negligent supervision, negligent hiring or negligent maintenance against the operator of the pool. This may be a city, county school district or other government entity. A negligence claim also may be available against private pool owners who were supposed to be supervising your child, but failed to do so.

Product liability: if pool equipment or any of the safety features were improperly installed, designed or constructed, you may be able to file a product liability case against the pool or part manufacturer, distributor, seller and/or installer.

Premises liability: if the drowning occurred on another person's private property, you may be able to file a premises liability suit against them. Private property owners have a duty to warn of known dangers on their property and those who own swimming pools generally have a duty to prevent children from entering their property and hurting themselves.

There may be multiple legal grounds for your claim, including those not listed here. An attorney experienced in these types of cases can review the facts of your case and determine the best course of action.

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