With Summer upon us, everyone needs to take extra precautions when swimming in pools, especially those with young children.& nbsp; Additionally, parents who have swimming pools in their neighborhoods need to take extra precautions to ensure that their children are safe. I recently handled a case where the clients’ four-year-old son drowned to death in a neighbor’s artificial, backyard swimming pool. While we were able to get the clients a favorable settlement for the policy limits of defendants’ homeowners liability insurance, there was no way to bring back their son. As such, this blog is intended to serve as a Summer warning to all parents.
Parents generally rely on the owners or managers of the pools to protect their children. Indeed, most of us probably assume that the lifeguards on duty, if any, are capable, properly trained, and attentive to accidents and warning signs of a potential accident. However, good practice is to not assume that these lifeguards, owners, and managers of the pools are going to prevent any mishaps. Rather, begin instructing your children on safety and the risks inherent in playing in the water; do this at an early age. Remember that drowning is actually a common cause of death for young children. Parents should strongly consider being trained in CPR and be prepared to administer this technique. Supervision is probably the most important thing. Do not let your young child swim without competent adult supervision. It is far better to have your child miss a day or two of swimming than to find yourself in the position of my clients, the ones who lost their son.
If there are neighborhood swimming pools near your home, instruct your children that they are never to swim without your permission. If there are unenclosed swimming pools in your neighborhood, you may even consider approaching the property owners and asking them to enclose their pool for the safety of the children in the neighborhood. In the case of my clients who lost their son, had the defendants enclosed their backyard swimming pool, the little boy would still be alive today. Don’t gamble with the safety of children; when you do, you will lose every time. Be safe this Summer.