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Avoiding drowning deaths in New Jersey

On Behalf of | Jul 19, 2016 | Premises Liability

Regardless of an individual’s swimming ability, he or she may still be at risk for drowning. In many cases, an individual is inebriated at the time of drowning, and more adults than children drown each year. However, the fact remains that 20 percent of drowning victims each year are younger than 14.

Children may be vulnerable to drowning even if they are being watched by adults. This may be because the adult responsible for supervising the child is distracted by a cell phone or some other device. An adult may also get up to use the restroom or otherwise leave while a child is still in or near a pool. It may be a good idea to have multiple adults supervising children by or in a pool so that each one can take turns.

Those who own a pool on their property owe others a duty of care to keep their premises reasonably safe. This means that any hazard that the owner knows about or should know about needs to be removed. Otherwise, taking care of a hazard may involve warning signs highlighting the danger, putting a fence around the pool or locking pool gates when no one is around to supervise a child.

When a person dies in a slip and fall accident while using a pool, the property owner may be liable for damages. In the event that someone dies after drowning, that owner of the pool may be required to pay for that person’s final expenses, lost wages and lost future earnings due to wrongful death. The family of the victim may decide to talk to a lawyer about pursuing such a case, which may be settled out of court if desired.

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