With the temperature rising as summer is upon us, kids are instinctively drawn to swimming pools. While a swimming pool can be the source of endless hours of fun and recreation, it can also be an extremely dangerous place where children may suffer catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. If your child is going to be at a home with a swimming pool, it is essential to understand who will be supervising your child and to ensure that your child is a proficient swimmer. Parents should also confirm that any pool at a home that their child will be visiting is properly secured with a fence, locked gate, cover and/or similar protective measures.
A recent tragedy in Georgia serves as a grim reminder of the pool related dangers to children when there is inadequate supervision of children in the vicinity of a swimming pool. Two five-year-old girls drowned while the grandparent of one of the girls who was the nanny of the other was preoccupied on a 45 minute phone call. The nanny is now facing criminal charges and will likely be the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of the girl that the nanny was supposed to be watching.
While this is a terrible tragedy, it is not rare when kids are left in the vicinity of swimming pools without close adult supervision. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that drowning is the leading cause of fatalities involving children ages 1-4. CDC data also reveals that younger children are most prone to suffering wrongful death caused by drowning in a swimming pool. Because children spend more time in pools during the summer, approximately fifty percent of drowning incidents involving kids occur from June through the end of August.
The importance of vigilance regarding the location of small children around swimming pools can hardly be overstated. Drowning data reveals that ninety percent of children that survive near drowning incidents are discovered within the first two minutes after falling into the pool. There are many hazards that pose the risk of catastrophic injury or wrongful death including:
- Falling in a pool and drowning
- Drain entrapment accidents
- Head injuries suffered when slipping on wet pavement
- Diving board accidents
- Accidents involving defective or missing lifesaving equipment
If your child is injured in a Mississippi swimming pool accident, our experienced Mississippi swimming pool accident attorneys provide effective legal representation to drowning victims and their families. At Barrett Law, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi. Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.