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Swimming Pool Accidents
Drowning Accident Attorneys in Tallahassee, FL Supporting Victims' Families in Leon County, Wakulla County, Jefferson County, Gadsden County, and Throughout Florida
An accident in or around a swimming pool can have irreversible consequences. As you’re trying to make sense of what has happened and how to move forward, having knowledgeable Tallahassee swimming pool accident lawyers by your side can help. We’re committed to getting victims and their families answers, accountability and, when possible, financial compensation.
Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. is prepared to fight for families impacted by all types of swimming pool accidents. We begin each case with a free consultation, so contact us today for the skilled, compassionate legal assistance you need.
Swimming Pool Accident Claims in Tallahassee, FL
In swimming pools in Florida hotels, resorts, parks, communities, and private residences, a single mistake could lead to major injuries. Pool maintenance failures, equipment malfunctions, negligent lifeguard supervision, and slipping hazards are just a few examples of issues that can give rise to serious accidents.
Legal Rights in a Swimming Pool Accident
When another party’s negligence is to blame, victims and families harmed by swimming pool accidents have legal recourse. With the help of dedicated drowning accident attorneys in Tallahassee, FL, they can seek a settlement or award that compensates them for their losses.
The owners of hotels, resorts, water parks, camps, community pools, apartment complexes, and other facilities can face liability for a swimming pool accident. So can property managers, maintenance companies, and the manufacturers of defective equipment. In some cases, it may be possible to seek compensation from a private property owner for a swimming pool accident injury.
Under Florida law, you will generally need to establish negligence of some form to hold a property owner legally and financially accountable for a swimming pool injury. This means establishing that the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused your injuries and other damages in doing so. Because swimming pools pose specific risks, the owners of swimming pools have specific obligations under Florida law, including keeping these facilities locked, gated, or covered.
Types of Swimming Pool Accidents
In and around swimming pools, numerous types of severe accidents occur. You may have the opportunity to hold property owners and other parties accountable for the harm that results from accidents like the following.
Drownings
The type of swimming pool accident that most readily comes to mind is drowning. Drowning occurs when submersion or immersion in the water results in respiratory impairment.
Children are particularly at risk of drowning in a swimming pool. Even people who are strong swimmers can drown, particularly if they suffer any kind of injury or medical event that leaves them disoriented or compromises their mobility in any way.
Drownings claim dozens of lives annually throughout the state, the Florida Department of Health reported. Survivors of drowning accidents can suffer long-term harm such as brain damage or, at the very least, incur significant medical bills for emergency treatment.
Diving Board Injuries
Entering a swimming pool from a diving board can put you at a greater risk of injuries, particularly if the board or the pool was not properly installed or maintained.
An accident that causes the diver to hit the board can lead to injuries such as fractures, usually to the hands or feet.
In the water, serious injuries can result if the water levels are not high enough for safe jumping or diving. Hitting the bottom or side of the pool could result in broken bones, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, and other serious injuries. A diving accident, particularly when diving into water that is too shallow, can result in lifelong paralysis, major losses of function, and fatal harm.
Injuries Involving Pool Drains and Pipes
Pool drains, filters, and pipes are necessary to keep pools operating under sanitary conditions. However, any design defect or equipment malfunction in these systems could lead to horrible accidents. Hair and swimsuit fabric could become tangled in drains and filters, pulling a victim under the water and contributing to a drowning accident. In facilities with large pipes, an equipment failure could result in a small child getting sucked into the pipe.
Electrical Shocks and Electrocutions
Swimming pools require electricity for motorized pumps, filters, vacuums, and lighting. Faulty wiring and other issues can lead to electric shocks and, in some cases, fatal electrocutions.
How Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. Can Help
To secure the compensation you deserve, you need professional legal guidance. The Tallahassee swimming pool accident lawyers at Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. are ready to serve you.
Types of Swimming Pool Accidents We Handle
Our team fights for fair compensation for victims of all kinds of swimming pool accidents, including:
- Drownings in community pools, hotel pools, and pools on private residences
- Diving board injuries
- Injuries involving pool drains and pipes
- Electrocutions
- Swimming accidents at children’s summer camps
- Accidents in waterparks and other types of amusem*nt parks
Our Approach to Getting Victims Compensation for Swimming Pool Accidents
Wherever and however your accident occurred, evidence is crucial to making the legal process work for you. Our drowning accident attorneys in Tallahassee, FL, begin each case with a thorough evaluation of the facts. We’re prepared to conduct a full investigation that involves reviewing photographs and video footage, witness statements, medical records, maintenance logs, and more. When needed, we consult with expert witnesses who can assess whether a pool’s design or installation was negligent and whether warning signs and lifeguard training were inadequate. We use this evidence to support your claim for compensation.
Throughout your case, you can count on our lawyers to handle all aspects of the legal process. You don’t have to worry about deadlines, legal documents, formal proceedings, and interactions with the defendant or their insurance company. We take care of everything so you can focus on moving forward.
Why Choose Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A.?
Our experience, comprehensive skills in handling all types of swimming pool accidents, and offer of skilled legal assistance at no upfront cost make our team the clear choice for Tallahassee swimming pool accident lawyers.
Extensive Experience
For more than 35 years, our firm has assisted injured clients across Florida. Our team has a combined century of experience in legal practice and has served more than 10,000 clients.
Assistance With All Types of Swimming Pool Accidents
As a full-service personal injury firm, Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. is prepared to address the full range of different swimming pool accidents that occur in Florida. We’re just as well-equipped to stand up to major resorts and hotels as we are to hold accountable individual pool owners. We have the skills to unearth evidence of faulty wiring that leads to electrical shocks as well as to establish negligence for fall injuries, diving board injuries, and drownings.
Representation at No Upfront Cost
It will cost your family nothing to explore your legal options for seeking compensation after a swimming pool accident. Our offer of a free initial case evaluation is only one part of our dedication to making legal help accessible to all victims. Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. represents injured clients on a contingency basis. Instead of having to pay upfront fees that could add to your financial burden, you will only ever pay a percentage of the compensation we succeed in getting for you.
A swimming pool accident is much more than one scary moment. Its repercussions can affect the rest of your life. For many families, getting fair financial compensation is the only way to afford the medical costs, overcome the financial hardships, and move forward with life after a swimming pool accident.
For help from experienced drowning accident attorneys in Tallahassee, FL, or call 850-605-3555 today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Swimming Pool Accident Claims in Tallahassee and Throughout Florida
Minor scrapes and bruises are common around swimming pools, but if a significant injury ever occurs, the steps you take next are important for protecting your health and your legal rights.
First, get to safety. Avoid exposure to an environment that could pose greater risks, such as the potential danger of drowning while disoriented or having limited mobility because of an injury. Trying to rescue a drowning person can be dangerous, even for strong swimmers, so use caution. If possible, ask qualified lifeguards for help or use emergency flotation devices to assist you.
Call for medical assistance immediately. Depending on the form of injury, providing first aid can be crucial. This may mean providing mouth-to-mouth CPR to a drowning victim or applying pressure to stop a severe wound from bleeding.
Undergo an examination by emergency medical personnel when they arrive on the scene. Even if your injuries do not appear life-threatening, you should go to the hospital or another medical facility to undergo a more thorough examination.
To the extent possible, document the accident. Take photos of where it occurred and the conditions that may have contributed to the accident. Ask any witnesses for their contact information and statements. If possible, find out if there were any video surveillance cameras that may have caught footage of the accident.
As soon as possible, consult an experienced attorney who can begin reviewing the facts and gathering further evidence. Waiting too long could allow valuable evidence that supports your claim to get lost, making it more difficult for you to successfully establish the property owner’s negligence.
Swimming pool accidents often result from some form of negligence. The victim and their family could have been taking all reasonable precautions, but negligence in the pool design, maintenance, policies, and lifeguard supervision can still lead to injuries.
Examples of the types of negligent conduct that can contribute to a swimming pool injury include:
- Unsafe design of the pool, drains, pipes, filters, diving boards, and slides
- Unsafe pool surrounds, walkways, and decking that contribute to slips, trips, and falls
- Debris, such as broken glass, in and around the pool
- Unsafe water levels that could result in injuries swimming or jumping into the pool
- Unsafe water, including water that is over-treated with chemicals or that contains harmful levels of bacteria
- Unsafe pool steps, handles, or ladders
- Poor maintenance
- Malfunctioning equipment
- Failure to install appropriate safety equipment, including barriers, locked doors or gates, coverings, alarms, and adequate lighting
- Failure to post warning signs
- Negligent, unqualified, or poorly trained lifeguards
- Missing emergency flotation devices in the pool area
Determining the cause of the swimming pool accident and identifying all potential defendants is crucial for the success of your claim. Through a thorough investigation, our Tallahassee swimming pool accident lawyers can uncover the truth and begin building your case.
Generally, an injured victim or a family impacted by a swimming pool accident can seek to hold accountable any party whose negligence was a significant factor in causing the injury. The
Tallahassee swimming pool accident lawyers at Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster & Gwartney, P.A. represent clients in claims against hotels and resorts, water parks, apartment complexes, community pools, camps, and private property owners. If equipment malfunctions contributed to the injury, we may be able to hold a manufacturer accountable through a product liability claim.
To succeed in seeking compensation from any such party, you must be able to establish negligence that constitutes a breach of duty on their part. Depending on the facts, your claim might involve one or multiple defendants. One of our first priorities as experienced drowning accident attorneys in Tallahassee, FL, is to identify all of the potentially liable parties involved in your case and begin gathering evidence of their negligence.
Compensation for a swimming pool accident is intended to make you as financially whole as possible by addressing the different losses that resulted from your injury.
Generally, a person injured in a swimming pool accident can seek compensation for losses like the following:
- Medical and rehabilitation costs
- Any ongoing medical expenses related to the accident
- Lost wages if the injury keeps the victim out of work temporarily
- Loss of future earning capacity if the injury results in long-term disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Disfigurement due to permanent scarring
The exact compensation you can expect depends on the specifics of the situation. If you’re pursuing a claim on behalf of a loved one who has sustained significant brain damage or paralysis resulting from a spinal cord injury, the claim might include compensation for life-long care and assistance or wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
Drownings, electrocutions, and other types of swimming pool accidents can have deadly consequences. For the surviving family members of a victim fatally injured in a swimming pool accident, a wrongful death claim might encompass compensation for any medical bills incurred before the victim passed, funeral costs, loss of income, and loss of support and companionship.
Victims and families harmed because of swimming pool accidents deserve to receive every dollar of compensation available to them. Our goal is to push for the settlement or award that most fully compensates you.
$5.8
Million
Settlement against a hospital for the wrongful death of a client's mother.
$2.2
Million
Confidential settlement against an assisted living facility.
$2.0
Million
Settlement for a client who sustained injuries from a car accident.
$1.0
Million
Policy limits settlement in a tractor trailer accident.
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