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Swimming pools are such a large part of the summer in North Carolina and the Outer Banks (OBX). Children cannot get enough of the pool and other water attractions during the heat of their break from school. As a parent, and a personal injury lawyer specializing in accidents and wrongful death, I am very conscious about the dangers at swimming pools. There are lots of responsibilities that go with being a hotel, property owner, or other person responsible for a swimming pool.

Some of the risks include drowning whether a lifeguard is present or not. Sometimes the cloudiness of an improperly maintained pool can make even the most observant lifeguard unaware of a child or even adult swimmer in distress. Another of the catastrophic injuries that occur around pools are the diving accidents resulting in closed head injuries, fractured skulls, or traumatic brain injuries. Often the markings around a pool about what is an appropriate place to dive and what is not are less clear than needed. Despite the cases involving children getting trapped on pool drains, there are still many pools which have not been retrofitted or designed properly to prevent this kind of injury. If the pool drain is not designed safely, it can have incredible suction force which can grab a kid and disembowel them, meaning suck their insides out right through their skin. The fix to prevent this kind of problem is very inexpensive and well known in swimming pool safety circles. However, these incidents still occur.

My purpose in mentioning these kinds of horrible situations is not to ruin anyone’s summer vacation. I think that it is important information to get out there, so that parents can be aware of the risks and people responsible for swimming pools can be aware of their responsibilities and some of the tragic results that can occur when pools are not maintained safely.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the Northeast North Carolina (NC) border, practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm’s website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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