Now that summer is here, families can finally enjoy the fresh, crisp, and cool waters of their backyard or neighborhood swimming pools. But in order to have fun at the pool, there must be a focus on safety. Pool owners are responsible for maintaining safe and clean premises at all times, including homeowners, hotels, neighborhoods, schools, gyms, and more. Not only are they responsible for keep their premises safe for guests, they can also potentially be held liable for injuries to trespassers as well. This is why the pool areas must remain clean and safe at all times.
Although owners have a duty to keep their premises safe, and can be held legally liable for a guest’s injuries, there are times when a swimming pool accident is not their fault, but the fault of the victim. Continue reading to learn examples of when victims may be at fault for swimming pool accidents.
Swimming Pool Liability
When a guest is injured at a person’s pool, the law of liability can make the property owner at least partially responsible to pay for the victim’s’ damages and losses. This can include hospital bills, medical expenses, prolonged physical therapy, and more. However, there are times when the actions of the injured victim can actually reduce the money the homeowner’s insurance company must pay, to some degree. This is because the injured victim can also be to blame for a swimming pool accident.
Intoxication
Alcohol consumption and swimming are not a wise mix, and for many reasons. Not only are drowning accidents common among intoxicated swimmers, many other serious pool accidents can occur as a result of careless or physical instability. For example, let’s say that a pool was entirely protected, and a victim was extremely intoxicated, and as a result of their intoxication, they took careless actions that caused them injury.
In a case such as this, comparative negligence (a legal concept in which an injured victim is a contributing factor to their injuries) could be argued, supporting that the homeowner is partially “off the hook” in terms of liability because it was the victim’s fault they were injured. In contrast, if the pool was not in safe condition, and an intoxicated person was injured, the pool owner could be liable for injuries and damages.
No Diving Signs
If a guest is injured after diving into a pool that has “No Diving” or “Swim at Your Own Risk” signs posted, the pool owner’s liability could be reduced to some degree, since the guest negligently ignored the warning signs. However, this depends on a variety of factors, including the victim’s age, extent of injuries, conditions of the pool, pool security, and other circumstances of the accident.
Principally, if the swimmer blatantly ignored a pool’s warning signs, and was old enough and mature enough to understand the risks expressed by the warning signs, the pool owner has a better chance at reducing their liability.
Contact an experienced personal injury attorney if you or someone you love was recently injured in a swimming pool accident. They can help you assess your case and determine the best strategies to recover compensation for related damages and losses.