DROWNING ACCIDENTSWere You or a Loved One Involved in a Drowning or Near-Drowning Incidents?

brampton Drowning Accident Lawyers

FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT brampton & THE GTA

Every year many people die from unintentional drowning according to the CDC. More than 3,000 drowning victims every year in the U.S. alone, making it the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury death in the country. Accidental drowning is a devastating event, and while the legal ramifications are not the most pressing element when experiencing this tragedy, it is important to understand this aspect of your situation. For this reason, you should contact the personal injury attorneys at Hurt In brampton as soon as possible.

Together, by holding the responsible companies and employers accountable for their actions, we may also help prevent the same or similar industrial accidents from harming others in the future.

What Laws Apply to Drowning Cases?

The laws affecting drowning accidents are a combination of regulations and common duty law.

Law requires pool owners and property operators to maintain basic safety at their pools to protect others.

laws and regulations that could affect your case include:

  • Premises Liability
    Property owner or manager failure to properly keep up the swimming area.
  • Attractive Nuisance
    Property owner liability if their land is likely to attract children and cause injuries as a result.
  • Willful or Wanton Misconduct / Gross Negligence
    Blatant disregard for safety issues or violations, intentional failure to fix damages or hire lifeguards, etc.
  • Negligence Per Se
    Violation of the “Standard of care,” which will be determined through administrative regulation or municipal ordinance

Who May Be at Fault for a Drowning Accident?

Determining and proving fault following a drowning accident is the most difficult part of a case. While you may believe a certain party should be held liable, you must have the strong evidence and laws to back up this belief. That is why having a skilled Houston attorney by your side can be so crucial during this time. A lawyer can not only identify at-fault parties, but also prove liability of these parties through careful investigation.

The following parties may be at fault in a drowning accident:

  • Recreational Centers
  • Neighborhood Associations
  • Private Premises Owners
  • Hotels
  • Swim Management Companies
  • Non-Profit Organizations

Proving the fault of any of these parties can be challenging, especially when a case involves non-profit organizations, public facilities, and other properties that may be protected by state, government, or various other laws. You will need a skilled legal advocate on your side who has a comprehensive understanding of these varying laws and statutes and can anticipate any possible complications with your claim.

Determining Negligence in a Drowning Accident

Determining and proving fault following a drowning accident is the most difficult part of a case. While you may believe a certain party should be held liable, you must have the strong evidence and laws to back up this belief. That is why having a skilled Houston attorney by your side can be so crucial during this time. A lawyer can not only identify at-fault parties, but also prove liability of these parties through careful investigation.

If a lifeguard does not pay proper attention to swimmers and someone drowns while on their watch, the lifeguard, as well as the premises’ owner, may be charged with negligence. There may be other causes or contributing factors in drowning accidents as well. Defective filters have been known to cause drowning by way of suction. The victim may be dragged underwater with his or her hair caught in the filter and drowned before anyone notices or can free them. In these scenarios, the manufacturer of the defective filter may be held liable.

In some situations, drowning accidents are caused by pure carelessness.

For example, a parent, guardian, or babysitter may walk away from a child when they are swimming. An unsupervised child is at a huge risk for drowning if an experienced swimmer is not there to monitor them. Sometimes, serious accidents are caused by horseplay or running. If one person is knocked unconscious or is pushed into the deep end when he/she does not have strong swimming skills, the results can be disastrous.

Causes of Drowning Accidents

  • Untrained staff/lifeguards
  • Failure to create a prevention plan
  • Lack of water clarity
  • Failure to meet Certified Pool Operator Standards
  • Lack of supervision or lifeguards on duty
  • Overcrowded area
  • Broken or missing emergency equipment
  • The presence of defective gates and latches
  • Defective equipment or design
  • Failure to install sufficient barriers such as a fence

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help with Your Case

One of the first things that you should do following a drowning accident is to contact a personal injury attorney that you know you can trust. A brampton personal injury lawyer can answer your questions and help you take the appropriate action. At Hurt In brampton, our law firm is passionate about protecting the rights injured, as well as bereaved families. We fight for justice. Many drowning accidents occur in public places, including hotels, water parks, and summer camps. Ensuring that those responsible are called out for their negligence encourages better safety measures, protecting others from enduring similar pain and preventing drowning accidents from occurring in the future.

Some of the documentation and evidence your attorney can use in your case include:

  • Photos of the body of water where the drowning accident occurred
  • Police reports / first-responder information
  • Work schedules of attendant lifeguards, if applicable
  • Interviews with family members, witnesses, or those at the area when the accident occurred
  • Results of a safety and surveillance inspection, including a water clarity reading
  • Information about drowning accidents that had occurred at the site previously
  • Testimony from expert witnesses including physicians, medical examiners, and aquatic experts
  • Information about training received by lifeguards, if applicable

Children & Drowning: Silent Danger

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of four,

Most people have misconceptions about drowning, especially when it comes to young children. In many cases, people assume that a drowning child will cause a loud splash, yell for help, or at least make noises and catch the attention of a nearby adult supervising the situation. Unfortunately, drowning is much more complicated. In fact, drowning is often a very quiet thing—and can happen in a matter of minutes.

Parental Supervision vs. Focused Attention

When people hear about a child drowning, they often jump to pointing the finger at the parents. It is easy to blame poor parenting, but the issue runs much deeper. Many incidents involving children drowning involve heartbroken parents who merely looked away for seconds, were convinced their child was inside the house, or had a watchful on them as they swam, only to see their child hurt due to a dangerous defect.

Representatives from The Center for Children and Women note there can be danger in having a sense of security. The situation appears to be safe—and parents can unintentionally let their guard down over time. This is especially true for families who have access to swimming in their backyard or have put their children through swim lessons, making them all the more comfortable or relaxed with the situation as time goes on.

Another danger is the amount of supervision present. The more adults or lifeguards around, the more adults provide only general supervision rather than focused attention. This is known as a diffusion of responsibility.

When there are more parents around, it can result in more casual supervision or more distractions. One parent may start talking to another parent, assuming the other adults are watching the children, while those other adults assume the same thing. All of a sudden—even if just a minute—no adults are fully paying attention to the children in or around the water. In that brief moment, tragedy can easily strike.

Guidelines for Safe Swimming
Some of the key guidelines parents and experts agree on include:

  • Kids and adults should know how to swim before going to a body of water.
  • Life jackets should be worn in water by young swimmers—not just for “weak swimmers.”
  • Don’t provide simple supervision. Stay attentive and provide visual supervision.
  • Put away the phone, book, or pause the conversations with other parents while children are swimming.
  • Set up a secure barrier fence between children and the water.
  • Always stay alert and suspect the water when children are missing.
  • Be even more vigilant in open water such as oceans, rivers, ponds, or lakes.
  • Make sure you know drowning CPR as a parent.

Preventing Drowning Accidents: How to Respond to & Spot Potential Drowning Victims

Most people think they would recognize a drowning victim. While drowning is often portrayed as a dramatic event in movies and television, it’s a little more subtle in reality. Real drowning victims can even go completely unnoticed in the crowded environment. According to statistics, about 750 children drown in accidents every swimming season—within 25 yards of an adult in nearly half these incidents. When adults and other individuals cannot recognize the signs of drowning, a child in need of help may be overlooked.

With an average of 10 drowning victims a day, learning how to spot drowning kids is crucial.

What Is the Instinctive Drowning Response?

Learning the signs of Instinctive Drowning Response can help you save a life. After all, most drowning accidents are preventable.

There are three main types of victims in these situations:

  • Distressed Swimmer
    Shows signs of anxiety or panic, struggling but keeping head above water. May call, splash, or wave for help.
  • Active Drowning Victim
    Can’t stay above the surface and may have head thrown back with face upward, arms flapping at side. Unable to call for help.
  • Passive Drowning Victim
    Unconscious or below water, immersed and most likely not breathing with face in the water. Extremely urgent condition.

A distressed swimmer is often the individual personified in the movies, while an active drowning victim is limited to being spotted through their facial expressions and quiet struggle. Once a swimmer is an active drowning victim, they typically become submerged in less than a minute.

Recognizing an Active Drowning Victim

To be able to speak or call out, a person must be able to breathe. If someone is not able to breathe, his or her voice will also, logically, not work. The mouth of a person who is drowning sinks below the surface of the water, preventing him or her from safely breathing.

Even though they may surface temporarily, a drowning victim does not have sufficient time to breathe and call for help.

Drowning victims also don’t typically wave for help. If a person is drowning, the body’s natural instincts kick in, causing the victim to extend his or her arms laterally and press down on the surface of the water. This action propels the body upwards and allows the victim to breathe.

Common Signs of Drowning

A drowning victim may also display the following signs:

  • Does not respond to the question “Are you alright?”
  • Head is tilted back with an open mouth
  • Hair is covering the victim’s forehead or eyes
  • Hyperventilating or gasping
  • Tries to roll onto his or her back
  • Head is low in the water and mouth is at water level
  • Eyes are unable to focus or are closed
  • Not using his or her legs
  • Seems to be swimming without making any progress
  • Moves as if climbing an invisible ladder

Time Is Critical in Drowning Accidents

Once a person begins drowning, he or she must be rescued in 20 to 60 seconds. This is as long as the body can remain upright in the water. In the case of young children, they may struggle for even less time before their body is worn out and emergency rescue is required.

Delayed rescue times can result in serious injuries or even death.
Sometimes drowning accidents are tragic accidents, but other times, improper supervision by child care providers, lack of lifeguards, or other forms of negligence cause tragic harm.

For a Review with a Dedicated Lawyer, Call Hurt In brampton Today: (888) 793-3903

If someone you love was seriously hurt or killed in a drowning accident, we can do something about it. Our firm is here to help represent your best interests and fight for justice. All you have to do is get in touch with a personal injury attorney from our firm as soon as possible. For years, the name Hurt In brampton has been synonymous with tough advocacy for injury victims. We aggressively pursue justice for our clients.

Call Hurt In brampton at (888) 793-3903 for your case review with a knowledgeable drowning accident attorney.

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