Swimming Pools and Property Owner Injury Liability

Every time a person comes on to your property, you are exposed to injury liability. Having a swimming pool increases your chances of an injury because so many people are injured in swimming pools and spas each year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provides the following statistics for injuries in swimming pools and spas:

“From 2007-2009, there were an estimated 4,200 pool or spa emergency department-treated submersions for children younger than 15; and children between the ages of 12 to 35 months represented 47 percent of injuries for these years.”
“About 54 percent of the injuries for 2007 - 2009 and 74 percent of the fatalities for 2005 - 2007 involving children younger than fifteen occurred at a residence.”

Property Owners Have a Duty to Provide a Safe Environment

Property owners have a duty to prevent hazards or any condition which might lead to an injury on their property, including the hazards inherent with having a pool. A property owner must do everything he can to safeguard his pool area. Some possible injuries are:

Excessive chlorine that can lead to eye or skin injuries
Drowning accidents
Slip and fall accidents on slippery pool surfaces or tripping over toys on the pool deck
Head/Neck/Spinal Cord injuries from diving into shallow water or hitting the bottom of the pool

States Have Different Laws for Swimming Pools

Most states have laws requiring specific safeguarding for both residential and commercial pools. States and cities may also have laws requiring specific types of fencing around pools. Children are naturally drawn to pools and as such, a property owner is actually held to a higher standard of keeping unsupervised people out of the pool area by enclosing the pool area with locking fences/gates. While it may seem unfair that a property owner would be liable if an uninvited person is injured in his pool, if there was easy access to the pool and a child manages to get into the pool and is hurt by doing so, the property owner can be held liable for the injuries.

Examples of Property Owner Liability

Some injuries are not the fault of the property owner, for example if someone dives into the water despite being warned not to do so and is injured from his refusal to heed the warnings. There are instances though where a property owner will be held liable because the pool area has not been maintained in safe way. Examples of a property owner’s failure which could be grounds for a swimming pool lawsuit may include the following:

Failure to maintain equipment such as ladders, drains, and diving boards
Failure to have signs stating the different depth levels throughout the pool
Failure to keep the water clean and free of harmful chemicals
Failure to install fences and locks to protect unsupervised young children

Getting Legal Help

If you or someone in your family has been injured in swimming pool or spa, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney to help you understand your rights. An attorney can help you assess who is at fault. A home owner’s insurance company will cover any medical and legal costs so you should not worry about a homeowner paying the costs out of his own pockets. A pool drain or diving board manufacturer may ultimately be responsible for injuries sustained by equipment failure.

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