Summer is coming to a close. But the warm weather will remain for awhile longer. During that last gasp of warmth, many New Yorkers will head to pools to cool off or to take in the scenery. Most of those who flock to the pools will have a good and safe time. But, a few will have a less rosy experience. Some will suffer injuries, even death. The result will leave pool owners and the injured people wondering who is liable for the harm.
How many people die in pools? Often many more people than you might think die each year in a pool. Indeed, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 10 people die per day in unintentional drownings that do not involve a boat. Of that group, a fifth were 14-years-old or younger and 80 percent were male.
Thanks to those numbers, drowning is the fifth most likely cause of death nationwide. But, for children 14-years-old or younger, drowning is actually the second most common cause of death — only car accidents are more common.
Pool drownings occur for many reasons. Some of the more common reasons include lack of supervision and lack of appropriate barriers around the pool.
These factors are especially important to the person or company that owns the pool. If the pool owner fails to provide supervision and adequate barriers to the pool and that failure leads to injury or death, the pool owner may be staring at an expensive lawsuit. By the same token, New Yorkers hurt for those reasons may have a strong case.
New Yorkers interested in learning more may benefit from discussing their situation with an experienced premises-liability attorney.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Unintentional Drowning: Get the Facts,” accessed Sept. 1, 2015
