Public Pool Found Negligent for Diving Blocks Near Shallow End
Pool safety encompasses a wide range of precautions. It means adequate safety equipment to help prevent drowning. It means monitoring water to ensure that proper chemical levels are maintained to keep disease bearing organisms from living in the water. It also means protecting all swimmers, no matter their ability or skill. In addition, pool safety means limiting activities to the type of water that is appropriate for them. Or, in other words, it means ensuring that no diving occurs in the shallow end of the pool. As our Texas swimming pool accident attorney knows, many swimming pool accidents happen when a number of things go wrong at the same time. One recently court case examined just that scenario.
Perth Now recently published a story about a lawsuit involving a diving accident. The accident occurred more than five years ago, but the court just ruled on the subsequent lawsuit. At issue was a young man who became quadriplegic after diving into to the shallow end of the pool. The accident occurred after he jumped off concrete diving blocks located at the shallow end of the pool.
According to the court records, the blocks in question should have been removed prior to the accident. Several years before the incident, an organization focused on swimming safety released new guidelines. The guidelines recommended removing diving blocks from pools of that depth. In response to the guidelines, the pool applied for funds to remove the diving blocks. Though the pool received the money, instead of removing them, no diving signs were posted and lifeguard were instructed to inform swimmers they should not dive in that area. The young man in question did dive, and was horribly injured.
In its decision, the court noted that most swimmers who saw the eight diving platforms would have concluded that diving in the area was safe. In addition, the man injured in this accident has cerebral palsy and poor vision and may not have realized how shallow the water was.
The collision of a swimmer with special needs and a negligently maintained public pool lead to tragic results in this case. But the fact that the young man in question was not an average swimmer does not protect the pool owners from liability. One basic principle of law is that you cannot pick your victim. If a person is injured in a swimming pool accident because of their own special circumstances, the pool owner or operator is not relieved of legal responsibility. Instead, the negligent pool owner or operator is fully responsible for any damages caused to a fragile swimmer.
At the J. Guerra Law Firm, we understand that pool owners and operators have the same duties to special needs swimmers as they do to everyone else. Our swimming pool drowning lawyer works hard to protect the right of all swimmers who are hurt in swimming pools. If you or someone you know is injured in a swimming pool accident, please contact us. We can evaluate your claim and see if you have a potentially successful lawsuit.
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The victim was pulled from the pool and emergency officials were called while CPR was performed. Paramedics were eventually able to get the man to start breathing, but he remained unconscious when he was rushed to the hospital.
