A swimming pool can still be dangerous to swimmers and people sitting or walking nearby even when it is staffed by qualified lifeguards and kept in safe condition by its owner. In addition to the risk of drowning, poorly maintained swimming pools can lead to slip and falls or even electrocution. The pool owner may hold civil liability for any ensuing injuries in each of these scenarios.
Proving in civil court that a property owner should be legally liable for your pool-related injuries is complex, but a seasoned premises liability attorney could help. When you want to pursue a claim over an injury you sustained at a public or private pool, you could increase your odds of success when you have support from a Media swimming pool accident lawyer.
Whether the pool is on private residential property, open to paying members, or open to the public, people who own and operate swimming pools are legally obligated to keep the pool in good working condition and take reasonable steps to prevent lawful visitors from getting hurt. While swimming pool owners are not automatically liable for every injury that happens at their pool, they can be held liable for injuries caused by a dangerous property condition they knew about – or reasonably should have known about – but did not sufficiently address, such as a crack in a sidewalk near a pool or a broken filter cover.
As a Media swimming pool injury attorney can further explain, commercial and public pool owners hold “vicarious liability” for negligence by someone they employ, such as a lifeguard who fails to perform proper first aid or a manager who did not properly supervise lifeguards on duty. Pool owners may also be liable for injuries sustained by trespassing children since a pool often qualifies as an “attractive nuisance,” and a property owner must take extra care to prevent curious children from accessing it.
Swimming pool owners and employers are not always 100 percent to blame for injuries visitors sustain. When a pool owner being sued over an injury can show through evidence that the injured person was partially at fault for their own injuries due to negligent conduct, the court could assign a percentage of “comparative fault” to the injured person.
The court could reduce the total compensation available to the plaintiff in proportion to their share of total fault or deny them compensation for their injuries when that share exceeds 50 percent. Avoiding this kind of outcome is one of many things a skilled lawyer could help with following a swimming pool accident in Media.
Swimming pools can be a great place to spend a warm summer day, but they are not without their risks. When you were hurt at a pool by no fault of your own, you may have grounds to demand civil restitution from anyone you can prove was at fault for your accident, including the pool’s owner.
Guidance from a knowledgeable Media swimming pool accident lawyer can make a difference in your chances of securing a favorable result from your claim. Schedule an initial consultation by calling today.
Free case consultation