Devices that help swimmers float are supposed to be fun and safe.  Advertisers typically depict adults relaxing on floating chairs and children happily jumping in the pool wearing inflatable bands around their arms.  But what this blissful picture does not show is the false sense of security that comes with these items.  Swimming pool accidents can occur when inexperienced swimmers rely too heavily on assistance.  One family recently experienced a terrible loss when the floats used by their two-year-old were not enough to prevent her drowning death.

The Mirror just published a story about an English family who came to visit relatives in the United States this August when disaster struck.  The family, including the two-year-old, a seven-year-old and the mother were swimming in the grandparents’ pool.  The mother walked away from the pool with the older daughter to get a drink from the kitchen.  Moments later, the grandmother found the toddler face down in the pool.  The child died soon after.  Depending on the details of this and similar situations, the family may have had legal recourse against the manufacturer of the floatation device.

Manufacturers of consumer goods are responsible for making their products as safe as possible.  Not only do the normal rules of negligence apply, but in certain circumstances, strict liability can come into play.  Under the rules of negligence, the person asserting a claim must show a duty and breach of that duty.  If the person was being as careful as possible, it is impossible to show they were negligent.  Under a strict liability standard, however, the level of care is irrelevant.

Instead, to show strict liability, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the product had a manufacturing defect, a design defect, or an information defect.  In other words, if the product was designed in such a way that made it dangerous, the product was designed well but not made according to the design or not accompanied by an adequate warning, the manufacturer might be liable under this theory.  For example, if a float was designed in such a way that an unconscious child tipped forward with their face in the water instead of on their back with their face up, the family might be able to successfully sue the maker of the float in the case of a drowning accident. Or if the float was supposed to have a flap in the back to hold a child’s head above water but was made incorrectly, the manufacturer could also be held liable for a subsequent swimming pool accident.

Our Texas swimming pool accident attorney at the J. Guerra Law Firm has years of experience dealing with the aftermath of swimming pool tragedies.  He is knowledgeable about the various ways the makers of pool safety equipment can be found liable in the event that their products contribute to a swimmer’s death.  If you know someone who was injured or killed after a problem with a swimming pool apparatus, contact our pool drowning lawyer at the firm.  We can evaluate your claim and give you advice on the best way to proceed.

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