Was Your Child Injured at a Public Pool in Boston?
Pools can provide hours of fun and enjoyment, but it only takes a second for the excitement to turn into tragedy. The entire environment around a swimming pool is filled with danger, which can turn deadly if the pool owner doesn’t have safety measures in place.
If your child suffered a serious injury, you could be wondering who is responsible for the mounting medical bills. In this situation, your best answers will come from the Boston premises liability lawyers at DiBella Law Offices, P.C. With nearly two decades of experience in the Boston area, our skilled litigators can help you to understand your legal rights and who should be held liable. Call (617) 870-0907 today to schedule your free consultation.
Give us a call today to discover how we can assist you.
Understanding the Dangers of Pools
Even before you enter a Boston swimming pool, you face some risks:
- Wet decking surfaces
- Wet steps or stairs
- Toys left on the decking
- Defective electrical receptacles in the damp environment
- Damaged lawn furniture
- Inappropriate behavior from other pool guests
In addition, there are many dangers once you are in the pool, besides drowning. Some of these include:
- Damaged or defective pool ladders
- Damaged pool steps or pool floor
- Inappropriate pool behavior from other pool guests, such as rough play
- Water with too much chlorine, causing burns, skin issues, or respiratory complications
- Water with no sanitation, resulting in water-borne illnesses
- Dangerous pool drains
Injuries Common to Boston Swimming Pools
At a swimming pool, a victim can suffer minor scrapes and bruises to a severed spinal cord. Other injuries can include:
- Abrasions from falling on the decking or against the side of the pool.
- Broken bones or torn ligaments from inappropriate play in or near the pool.
- Lacerations from falling near the pool, inappropriate use of a slide or diving board, or hitting the pool wall.
- Allergic reaction from bees in the area or from chemicals used in pool sanitation.
- Respiratory distress from water in the lungs while at the pool, or hours later in the case of dry (delayed) drowning.
- Suction injuries from the pool plumbing.
- Head, neck, or spinal cord injuries from falling near the pool or diving in shallow water.
Also, a victim is much more likely to drown after suffering what appears to be a minor injury. All injuries at a swimming pool should be taken seriously, and the victim should be removed from the area immediately and given medical treatment.
We've offered crucial support and guidance to individuals who have suffered injuries, ensuring their financial and emotional well-being.
Pool Accident Liability
There are three categories of Boston pool visitors, and this can have a big impact on whether or not the pool owner is liable. The three types of visitors are:
- Invitees who were invited to the pool by the property owner. These could be guests to a home, or patrons at a public pool. These visitors have the greatest level of legal protection.
- Licensees are guests who enter the property without an explicit invitation from the property owner. These could be a person accompanying an invitee, a meter reader or delivery person, or a salesperson. These visitors also have legal protection.
- Trespassers are uninvited guests to the property, and they have very little legal protection. The one exception involving pools is children. In this case, the burden to keep out uninvited children falls on the pool owner. This means having functioning gates, doors and windows, fencing, and other safety barriers.
In all cases, visitors must act in an appropriate manner and obey posted signs, such as not running on a wet surface or diving into a shallow pool with a “no diving” sign. The laws surrounding pool owner responsibility and liability are complex. If you or a loved one has been injured at a Boston swimming pool, please call (617) 870-0907 today to speak to DiBella Law Offices, P.C. We offer a free consultation and are here to help you sort out this traumatic event.
Get in touch with us today to get a free consultation.
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