What Can I Do if My Child Was Injured at a Friend’s Swimming Pool? South Florida Injury Attorney Explains
As the state of endless summer, many single-family homeowners in South Florida have swimming pools.
A pool is a perfect way to relax and cool off for adults and offers hours of activity and fun for children. While there are many benefits to owning a pool, it also comes with unique responsibilities and liabilities for homeowners. As a pool owner, you must take safety measures to ensure that children, family, friends and all visitors are safe from harm on your property.
According to the CDC, drowning is a leading cause of injury and death for children between the ages of 1 and 14 years old. Drowning is the top leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 years old.
What Are Your Rights if Your Child was Injured in a Swimming Pool?
If your child was injured in a pool, there is a good chance the pool owner is liable. Florida gives pool owners a legal responsibility to mitigate all risks of injuries in their pool, and if they fail to mitigate risks that could injure a child, the owner can be held accountable under Florida law.
Common Florida swimming pool injuries include:
- Broken bones, fractures, dislocations
- Injuries from near-drownings such as cognitive and cardiovascular effects
- Spinal cord, back and neck injures
- Concussions and traumatic brain injuries
- Infections
- And more
Generally, families can recover financial compensation if their child was injured in a swimming pool accident under the personal injury practice area of premise liability. If the injury resulted from a specific negligent act or omission that led to the child’s injury, you likely have a strong personal injury case against the pool owner.
If you believe that you may have a case after your child’s swimming pool injury in Florida, the first step is to contact a South Florida personal injury attorney. An attorney will investigate and gather all possible evidence to work to prove the pool owner’s negligence. A successful injury claim requires that some type of negligence led to your child’s injury.
The sooner you act, the better, as if there is a visible defect that led to your child’s injury, pool owners may be quick to remedy it and lessen the ability for you to prove the defect.
If your child was injured in a private backyard pool, there is a good chance you know the family. Perhaps it’s a family from your child’s school, a family friend, or even a family member’s home. Sometimes, people feel hesitant to initiate a lawsuit against someone they know.
We always find it’s important to know this: When you file an injury claim against any homeowner, it is their homeowner’s insurance policy that will step in to provide a lawyer to represent the pool owner and to provide any form of compensation and settlement you and your child are entitled to for injuries.
Some people worry about causing another family member or friend the financial strain of a lawsuit – however, it is not their personal finances that cover your damages, it is the home insurance company. The only entity that benefits from you not pursuing an injury claim after a swimming pool accident is the insurance company.
Lawsuits feel very personal, but in many personal injury cases they hardly (if at all) affect the responsible party due to their insurance policy stepping in.
What Factors Can Lead to Liability in a Florida Swimming Pool Accident?
- Improper Fencing: Outdoor swimming pools are required to have a fence or a barrier around the pool with a self-closing gate under Florida law.
- Slip & Fall Accidents: If conditions around the pool are not appropriately maintained, an owner could be responsible for a slip & fall accident.
- Lack of Supervision: If a pool accident happens because an adult left children unattended around the pool, an owner can be found liable.
- Poor Maintenance: Poor maintenance can take the form of chemical imbalances in the water to uncovered filtration systems that lead to injury.
Was Your Child Injured in a South Florida Swimming Pool? Call for a FREE Swimming Pool Injury Consultation Today
Whether your child was injured in a backyard pool, an HOA pool, a public pool, a hotel pool (etc), we can help.
If you, your child, or a loved one were injured at someone’s pool in Florida, you need to speak to an experienced premises liability lawyer as soon as possible.
Please contact us online or call our Coral Springs office directly at (954) 755-7803 to schedule your free consultation. We proudly serve Florida residents including all of Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and all points in between.
Schedule your Free Florida Pool Injury Consultation Today: (954)755-780