As the summer months come into full swing it’s safe to say that residents all across the Twin City area are going to enjoy some poolside fun in the sun. Whether you and your family decide to cool off at your own private residential pool, a community pool, a friend’s pool, or even one of the many local water parks, it’s important to keep the many potential hazards and risks that pools pose in mind. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pool hazards cause numerous injuries and even deaths every year all across the United States.

Our legal team at Sand Law wants to remind everyone about the importance of making safety a priority while enjoying your pool time this summer, and that especially goes for parents and young children who should of course always be supervised while swimming. It’s true that some types of accidents that do occur at pools are generally unavoidable, but there are many safety measures that can be taken in order to prevent injuries.

Being a personal injury law firm, we fully understand the consequences of preventable injuries, and although our team is always there for those victims and families who go through a swimming pool accident, we still want to better inform local residents about some of the most common injuries and risks that occur in or near pools, which include the following:

Submersion and drowning

According to the CDC, there are around 300 drowning deaths and over 2,700 ER visits each year in the United States from all kinds of submersion injuries involving spas and pools. Young children are always the ones who face the greatest risks of submersion, near drowning and drowning accidents, and these risks with children are always intensified from a lack of adequate parental supervision, a lack of safety equipment or warnings, and sometimes from pools that are overcrowded.

Some great ways to protect you and your family from these kinds of accidents are to make sure no one is swimming alone, and that you are always supervising children to ensure their safety while they enjoy the pool area. Also, it’s important that every parent understands what is needed in terms of responding in the case of a potential emergency, which can include CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Diving injuries

Diving injuries occur when people jump head first into a pool, sometimes in areas that are too shallow for such dives, which subsequently can result in serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBI). If one of your loved ones hits their head in a diving accident or injures their head in any way around a pool, then it is important that you seek out a professional medical evaluation. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether a TBI has occurred right away, but these head injuries can quickly develop into something very serious and can even be life-threatening.

Many diving accidents occur because of certain risks around a pool, and some of these risks include the lack of proper warnings, which include signs showing the pool’s depth. Another common risk with diving injuries is also a lack of supervision of young children.

Slip and falls

Slip and fall accidents can happen within any place that has wet conditions and some kind of tripping hazards, and of course spas and pools almost always pose a legitimate risk for slipping and falling on wet surfaces, or tripping over improperly stored pool equipment.

Some of the ways in which pool owners and parents can reduce the risks of slip, trip and fall injuries is by making sure that the pool area is well lit at night, as well as warning guests and visitors about running around the pool and general roughhousing. Some other reasonable measures to prevent any kind of tripping hazards would include keeping the pool area generally tidy and placing warning signs when cleaning, or when the walkway is particularly slippery.

Unsafe product injuries

Any kind of defect in the design of a manufactured product can potentially create a serious risk to swimmers. Some pool products can cause injuries themselves, while other can actually increase the risk of drowning in certain circumstances. This type of risk is especially true for inflatable pool toys, pool cleaning equipment, or any kind of product that naturally may constrict a swimmer and potentially cause some form of entrapment or unwanted submersion.

There are also a lot of risks involved with unsafe jets or drains, and all product manufacturers are under the legal obligation to ensure the safety of their products for their intended use, and manufacturers are required to warn consumers of all potential risks. Many times manufacturers are held liable when their products end up being defective in some way and cause harm to an individual.

Many spa and pool injuries that are preventable can give the victim the right to hold the at-fault party accountable for their damages, which can include things like medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and much more. Many times these cases involve the legal duty concept of premises liability, which essentially is the requirement of all property owners to take reasonable measures to reduce risks to visitors and guests. As always, it’s always crucial to work with experienced, proven attorneys who fully understand these legal elements and can help you hold the at-fault party financially accountable for the negligence that was involved with you or your loved one’s injuries.