Injured in a Swimming Pool Accident? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

During the summer, swimming pools can be the center of a community or even the center of a home. While they can be a fun and engaging way to spend time with your family, friends, and neighbors, swimming pools have their own risks and dangers. A 2019 report from the U.S. 

If you have suffered a swimming pool injury, you may have questions about what you should do next. In certain scenarios, you can file a personal injury claim to help pay for any resulting treatment for your injury.

Common Causes of Swimming Pool Accidents

Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that over 390 deaths per year occur from drowning in a pool or spa, so pool safety is of the utmost concern.

While there are several different ways to be injured on or around a swimming pool, there are a few common injuries that occur. These include:

• Slips, trips, and falls
• Bone fracture/breakage
• Drowning
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Concussion
• Spinal cord injury

Although this list is not comprehensive, these are some ways an individual can be harmed at a swimming pool. 

Why do Swimming Pool Accidents Happen?

Most generally, swimming pool accidents occur because of a lack of supervision or attentiveness on the part of the property owner. These accidents can occur anywhere: from a privately owned residence to the deck of a cruise ship. 

In terms of liability, pool accidents generally fall under the umbrella of negligence, which has its own list of factors to determine liability, including:  

• A duty of care was supposed to be present.
  • A “duty of care” means that legally, someone who owns a property must act towards others and the public with the attention that any reasonable person under the circumstance would have. 
• The duty of care was breached.
  • When a preventable injury occurs despite the necessity of a duty of care, it is considered in breach of an understood contract. Therefore, the individual who should have been attentive to the situation can be held liable.

• This breach of duty of care caused an accident.
  • Because the individual who had a reasonable requirement of attentiveness breached their responsibility, another party was harmed. This harm could have been prevented if the correct attention had been paid.

• As a result of the incident, damages were incurred by the injured party.
  • The injury spawned from legal inattention of the responsible party resulted in medical bills, loss of wages, or pain and suffering that cost the injured party. 

For a free legal consultation, call (725) 900-9000

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Swimming Pool Accident

First and foremost, if you are injured in a swimming pool, make sure you or the injured party are on dry ground and out of the water. Call medical help immediately if necessary. If you end up going to a hospital to treat injuries right away, make sure that you document your trip and keep all relevant medical paperwork. 

If your injury is caused by negligence on the part of the property owner, you should consider hiring a personal injury attorney to see if you qualify for a case. An experienced attorney can help guide you through the process and encourage you to seek appropriate treatments to help aid your recovery.

What Damages Can a Personal Injury Lawsuit Cover?

 While you recover from a poolside injury, a personal injury attorney can file your case to begin negotiations for a monetary settlement. Settlements cover any damages that may have been accrued as a result of your accident, including economic or non-economic loss. 

Generally, economic damages are a quantifiable loss of money. These losses typically fall into categories including:

• Medical bills
• Wages lost 
• Household care
• Physical accommodation aids

When it comes to collectible damages that aren’t strictly quantifiable financially, however, you may need assistance from an attorney to determine the best way to seek damages. These types of damages are non-economic and usually include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress/mental anguish
• Loss of consortium

Between economic and non-economic damages, an injury can really add up. That’s why it’s critical that you seek professional help in building your case so that you make sure that you earn the fairest settlement for your injuries. 

Call Van Law Firm Today to Get Started

Finding the right personal injury attorney can be difficult, especially within this complicated legal field. Proving liability can require extensive evidence and negotiation, so why not leave it to the professionals? The attorneys at Van Law have gotten millions of dollars on behalf of their clients in personal injury cases.

When you call us, our intake team will help get you set up with the right attorney who will help see your case through to the end. All of our consultations are free, so don’t wait. Call us today and let us fight on your behalf to get you the settlement you deserve.