Swimming Pool Accidents

Supporting Clients & Counsel in Complex Claims Nationwide

Reasonable premises owners, occupiers, and property managers are expected to adequately address dangers associated with swimming pools – and most know full-well of the significant liability exposure pools create. Unfortunately, pool owner negligence leads to numerous injuries and deaths every year.

Like other premises liability claims, swimming pool cases hinges on meticulous investigation, strategic arguments, and the ability to convey narratives in creative and compelling ways.

At Athea Trial Lawyers, we craft winning cases by leveraging experience, specialized insight, and out-of-the-boxy storytelling. Our attorneys provide unparalleled representation to clients and work with counsel in prominent cases to position victims for the largest recoveries possible.

Why Athea Trial Lawyers?

• Billions in compensation recovered for clients.
• Record-setting results in premises cases across the country.
• Deep bench of nationally recognized trial lawyers.

Athea Trial Lawyers is a powerhouse trial practice that unites six of the most powerful plaintiffs’ attorneys in the nation. Thanks to our proven record, we’re trusted by clients and colleagues to work the most important cases.

If you have a case to discuss, call (800) 664-0161 or contact us online.

Cases We Handle

Athea Trial Lawyers is equipped to litigate a range of swimming pool accidents, including those involving issues such as:

• Failure to adequately fence pools or hot tubs to prevent unsupervised access
• Negligent maintenance of pools, pool areas, and pool equipment;
• Pool sanitation issues and improper pool chemistry
• Excessively dirty or littered pools that hinder supervision
• Electrocution and electric shock injuries caused by damaged or defective equipment
• Damaged or defective pool drains or jets that create entrapment risks
• Fatal drowning / wrongful death
• Near-drowning events resulting in permanent injuries
• Failure to provide rescue equipment, AEDs, and trained lifeguards
• Multiple defendants, short-term rentals / Airbnb, and contested liability
• Building code violations involving location, structure, and other issues
• Trespassing, child injuries, and attractive nuisances

Liability for Swimming Pool Injuries

Generally, parties that own, lease, occupy, or control property have an affirmative duty to exercise reasonable care in its maintenance – a non-delegable duty that can’t be passed off to third parties or independent contractors. Examples of defendants named in swimming pool cases include:

• Residential homeowners or landlords
• HOAs or property management companies
• Summer camps, community centers, and aquatic centers
• Local / county government responsible for public pools

While proving a defendant’s legal duty is a foundational element of premises cases, the scope and specifics of this duty can vary depending on the unique facts involved and whether property owner actions were reasonable or negligent. For instance:

• Reasonable safety measures may include routine inspections of pools to identify unsafe conditions such as damaged drains or lights that create risks of entrapment and electrocution, the creation of safety plans and supervision policies, and erecting pool fences that comply with local regulations and effectively prevent unauthorized access.
• Negligent swimming pool maintenance may include failure to inspect or adequately maintain pools, failure to erect proper pool barriers, failure to establish safety policies or emergency plans, inadequate supervision or lack of lifeguards, and failures to train employees.

Because the duty of care premises owners owe to guests is well established, the scope of duty becomes the primary focus in many swimming pool accident cases. In other words – proving fault and liability depends on effectively defining what duties premises owners had in relation to the construction, maintenance, and upkeep of their pools.

As trial lawyers, it’s our job to explain these concepts clearly and concisely for juries and to present arguments in a compelling manner. For this, we consider the same factors jurors are instructed to consider when deliberating over the reasonableness of a premises owner’s conduct in maintaining pools, including:

• Location and type of pool (a residential home, hotel, HOA, or public facility)
• Likelihood of people visiting the property to use to the pool and likelihood of injuries
• Foreseeability of injuries and potential severity of injuries
• Whether owners knew or should have known about the dangerous condition
• How difficult it was to protect against the risk of harm created by the unsafe condition
• The extent of a defendant’s control over the condition that created the risk of harm

In addition to structuring sound legal arguments, our attorneys also draw from specialized insight, a network of connections with experts, and trial technology tools like our slide girl service to build winning cases. We’re able to discuss how we help victims and support counsel during a consultation.

Proven Experience in High-Profile Litigation

Athea Trial Lawyers has extensive experience litigating premises liability and swimming pool cases. Most recently, we represented the family of a 6-year-old girl who suffered irreparable brain damage due to an unsafe hotel hot tub.

In our lawsuit, it was alleged that the hotel negligently installed an unpermitted and unapproved water park next the hot tub, failed to barricade the tub from a nearby water slide, heated the hot tub’s water to a temperature dangerous for children, and failed to have a rescue plan in place. Our claim also uncovered over 50 code violations and evidence suggesting the hotel left the existing hot tub so its water park project would be considered a renovation rather than new construction.

Free & Confidential Consultations: (800) 664-0161

Pool accident cases require ample resources and knowledgeable attorneys with demonstrable success fighting for victims harmed by unsafe property conditions.

If you have questions about a potential case involving injuries suffered by you or a loved one, or wish to speak with a member of our team about our trial support services, contact us for a consultation.