As any North Carolinian knows, swimming pools are almost a necessity during our hot, humid summers. Unfortunately, if they are not properly designed, maintained, and guarded, they can be very dangerous places for children. The CDC reports that 20% of drownings are children age 14 and younger. Even more troubling, there are almost two drownings per day in this age group. Among the types of pool, swimming, and water related incidents that can cause serious injury or death to small children are the following:
- Drownings caused by distracted or undertrained lifeguards;
- Drownings caused by inadequately designated and marked shallow and deep ends;
- Drownings caused by broken gates or fence latches, allowing small, unsupervised children access to pools;
- Serious injury and death caused by defective or poorly maintained pool drains;
- Slip and falls caused by unnecessarily slippery walking surfaces;
- Diving board incidents; and
- Burns and other injuries caused by improper use and release of pool chemicals.
If your child has been injured as a result of a pool or swimming related incident, or worse, you have lost a young child, the swimming pool accident lawyers of Maginnis Law can assist you in performing a through and complete investigation. Naturally, after incidents involving children occur, the parents’ first question is usually “why did this happen.” Our investigators will help you find the root cause, and, if it was another person or company’s negligence, we will aggressively and efficiently seek to hold that person or company legally liable.
Swimming pool and water cases involve an intersection of what is referred to as “premises liability” law and basic principles of negligence. Premises liability cases involve injuries or death caused by a dangerous condition present on the property. This is often one aspect of a pool injury case. However, many times there is also simply a person who didn’t perform his or her duties as they should have, such as a lifeguard or a parent supervising a pool party. In these circumstances, basic negligence law controls. Did this person act “reasonably prudent” or did they breach their duty to your child? These are some of the important questions that our Raleigh personal injury attorneys can help you determine, and they are critical to the outcome of any swimming or water related injury claim.
If your child has been injured in a swimming pool accident, our North Carolina injury attorneys may be able to assist with any negligence or wrongful death claim. Our lawyers regularly take on and litigate complex negligence cases involving children, and we do so with compassion, diligence, and professionalism. We handle all personal injury cases involving children on a contingency fee basis, meaning that no attorneys’ fees are owed until we recover money damages for your child. If no money damages are recovered, you do not owe any attorneys’ fee. Additionally, we offer a reduced fee for all cases involving minor children, including, in the worst of circumstances, wrongful death cases. From our Raleigh office, we can assist with swimming pool and after related accident cases throughout North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Clayton, Fayetteville, Greenville, and the surrounding areas. To schedule a free consultation to discuss your child’s case, please visit our contact page.
