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California Pool Accident Lawyers Warn about Drowning Accidents This Summer

Drowning accidents are a big concern this coming season. Summer is almost here, and millions of Californians will hit beaches, lakes and swimming pools around the state. California pool accident lawyers however, will be concerned at the increased risks of drowning and near drownings during the season.

Children are at a special risk of drowning during summer. According to the California Department of Developmental Services, drowning accidents are the number one cause of unintentional death among children between one and four years of age. Children are up to 14 times more likely to die in an accident in a swimming pool at a home, than in an automobile accident. That goes against the normal perception that most child drowning fatalities occur in natural water bodies like lakes. In fact, more than half of all drowning accidents in California occur in residential swimming pools.

There are several steps that parents can take to minimize the risk of a drowning accident.

Never leave your child alone around the pool, even for a few seconds. Very often, California swimming pool accident lawyers come across drowning deaths where the parent left the child alone for just a few minutes. It takes only a few seconds for a child to drown. Many of these drownings occur when the parent leaves the child alone to take a telephone call, attend to another child or other such distractions.  Such distractions and inattentiveness is completely inadvisable.

Keep your attention focused on young children playing in the pool, lake or any other water body. If there are a large number of children in the pool, make sure that you have at least one adult person designated to keep an eye on the children at all times. This person must be a responsible person. Avoid using children or even teenagers, to keep an eye on other kids in the pool.

Prevent neighbors’ children from entering your pool by installing fencing around the pool. The fencing must be at least 5 feet high.

The doors of the pool area must be self-closing and self latching.

Install alarms on all doors and windows, leading to the pool.  Alarms must also be installed on the automatic sliding door closers.

Place life preservers and pools on either side of the pool. These will be important when there’s an emergency and you need to hand over a pole or a throw a life preserver into the pool.

Children who do not know how to swim must wear personal flotation devices anytime they are near the water.

Don’t assume that your child is completely safe just because he has had a few swimming lessons. Approximately, 25 percent of pool accident fatalities involve children who have taken swimming lessons. In an emergency situation when a child suddenly falls into the water, the natural reaction is to panic, and the child may forget all his swimming skills.

It is also important that any adult supervising the child also know how to swim and perform CPR.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of swimming pool accidents. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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