Articles Posted in Swimming Pool Accidents

Although summer is winding down, Tucson drowning accidents remain a constant presence in the high temperatures, just like a near-fatal accident that occurred in the city late last month, according to AZ Star Net. The Mayor of Tucson recently proclaimed an 11-year-old girl a hero for rescuing her best friend from drowning in a neighbor’s swimming pool.

The girls were playing in the pool with other children, when the 10-year-old girl did not come out of the water and was pulled out by her friend. The victim spent four days in the hospital receiving treatment for her serious injuries. We are grateful the girl was rescued by her friend and hope that she is continuing to make great strides in her recovery.

Continue reading

We are excited to hear news from AZ Central that the Phoenix Children’s Hospital will spend the entire month of August promoting water safety to help reduce the number of children who drown in the city and throughout the state. This ninth annual Drowning Impact Awareness Month kicked off on July 31, 2012 with a focus on the most distracted month of the year. Hospital workers are hoping to reduce the number of serious injuries, permanent brain damage, and fatalities suffered each year by children who are victims of drowning incidents. Barriers and supervision, the hospital notes, are the best way to keep young children, like toddlers, from being involved in a drowning accident. Swimming safety is a must for all Arizona residents.

Phoenix Swimming Accident Facts and Figures

Phoenix swimming accidents are common throughout the summer, when distraction is as high as temperatures around the Valley. So far in 2012, Phoenix area children have been injured in 76 swimming and other water accidents, according to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Water Watchers program. Data indicates that there have been more than 236 fatalities involving children in the area over the past 12 years. According to recent news reports, three fatalities involving children under the age of four occurred in the wake of the program’s annual launch.

Continue reading

As experienced Phoenix swimming pool accident lawyers, it is very sad to see innocent individuals who are involved in swimming accidents in Arizona. Many times, swimming accidents cause fatal injuries. Other times, people are very seriously injured when involved in this type of accident. We see that the number of swimming accidents increases during the summer, which is no surprise. However, since in Arizona we have such great weather throughout the year, swimming accidents may happen all year through.

Causes of Swimming Pool Accidents

The causes of fatal injuries that we have seen are as follows:

• Negligent supervision at day care;
• Negligent supervision at camp;
• Broken gates;
• Individuals swimming alone;
• Diving into the shallow end; and
• Negligent supervision at homeowner’s home.

Continue reading

As Arizona attorneys who have received many calls about swimming accidents, we want to remind everyone that although it is winter time, pool accidents still do happen and we all need to be careful of dangerous injuries and fatal accidents that happen around pools. In some cases, children are injured because the swimming pool owner does not properly cover or enclose his or her pool with a fence. In other instances, children are injured when the person in charge of watching them does not keep a close enough eye on them to prevent them from falling into the pool. However, drowning incidents can happen to adults too when pools are improperly maintained, such as when the cover is only partially removed and the adult gets trapped underneath.

Arizona Swimming Accident Law

Under Arizona attractive nuisance law, even if property owners post no trespassing signs, they can be held liable for accidents that happen on their properties. This includes children who can’t read no-trespassing signs being attracted to something on the property like ponds, lakes, rivers, irrigation ditches, or swimming pools. When the child attempts to swim in these bodies of water, the property owner may be responsible for any swimming pool injuries that occur.

Continue reading

Arizona is the number two state in the country with the highest rate of child drowning incidents, second only to Florida, according to an article on Explorer.com. A study conducted by Safe Kids USA found that drowning was the second leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1 to 4 and ten to fourteen years of age. Drowning was the third leading cause of death for children under a year old.

About half of all drowning incidents, both fatal and non-fatal, occur in a home pool. Other places include spas, rivers, buckets and canals. Statistics show that about 10% of the kids who survive this kind of incident will have permanent brain damage. The severity of the damage will depend on how long the child was submerged under water, but in many cases, the damage can be substantial and include loss of motor function.

Continue reading

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has partnered with Safe Kids USA and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance to create a program that will help educate children and parents on pool safety. More than 210 reports of child drownings and non-fatal submersions have been reported in pools and spas across the nation since Memorial Day of this year. “Just one incident [of drowning] is one too many,” said Inez M. Tenenbaum, Chairman of the CPSC.

The new Pool Safely education campaign is geared towards children seven years and under and utilizes videos and online tools such as games to teach safety while swimming. There are seven simple steps that parents can review with their child that could lessen the likelihood of a drowning or other pool related injury. These steps include swimming lessons, installing pool drain covers and proper fencing, as well as other preventative measures.

Continue reading