Water-Related Accidents

Because of our unique, warm, and sunny climate, both residents of Southwest Florida and tourists alike runs towards their pools, the beach, our lakes, and the Gulf, for fun. Pretty much any recreational activity involving water is on the agenda in Southwest Florida. But these fun, family activities can easily involve injury or perhaps death if the proper precautions are not taken in account.

The number one danger associated with water activities is drowning.  There are, on average more than 4,000 drowning deaths in the United States, including boast accidents.

Of these drowning deaths, one in four was a child 14 years old or younger.  In reality, almost one-third of deaths in children between the ages of 1 and 4 are from drowning; and drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury and death for children ages 1-14.

It is critical to remember that even if a child is involved in a non-fatal drowning, brain damage can result, causing long-term disabilities such as memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic bodily functions (vegetative state).

What Causes Injury and Death in Water-Related Activities?

There are a number of dangers in or around bodies of water that may cause injury:

Alcohol use
alcohol is involved in almost half of all adolescent and adult water-related deaths.  Alcohol inhibits rational thinking and increases risk taking as well hampering balance, coordination and eye-sight.

Diving
diving in shallow water, cliff diving and reckless diving board diving, may lead to injuries and death involving broken necks, backs, or blows to the head.

Irresponsible behavior while boating
Most people who drowned during boating were not wearing life jackets and did not abide by other boat safety laws.  Alcohol was involved in many of the boating deaths, as well.

Lack of supervision and barriers
most children who died by drowning were not properly supervised by adults or caregivers and were around pools that did not have proper child-proofing, such as a pool fence or pool barrier. 

From our perspective, every single pool injury or spa injury or drain entrapment case is too many.  We know, however, that many pool drains are defective, many spa drains are defective, many hot tubs drains are defective, many resort pools are unguarded and unsafe.

If your child or other loved one has been seriously injured or harmed in a swimming pool accident, spa, or hot tub, then call a dedicated injury attorney at our firm.  We will discuss your challenges and legal options in complete confidence. If we agree to handle your pool accident claim, then we will seek to hold the negligent parties responsible as well as fight to obtain the financial security for medical bills, advanced therapies and interventions, advanced rehab, and cutting-edge treatments for your child.