Broward Injury Lawyer Blog
Memorial Day marks the beginning of swimming pool season and the risks for accidents are on the rise. Tragically, drowning has already claimed its first summer victims in South Florida.
According to The Palm Beach Post, there were two children who were seriously injured in separate swimming pool incidents in Boca Raton in just one day. Both children were recovering at West Boca Medical Center. In both incidents, children fell into unattended pools.
Our Fort Lauderdale child injury lawyers understand that the summer season is about here and with that come some serious risks for swimming pool accidents. Many of the victims of these accidents are our youngest family members. Sometimes supervision just isn’t enough and we need to be doing more to help keep them safe in the more than 1 million Florida swimming pools.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 10 people who are killing in drowning accidents each and every day across the U.S. About 20 percent of these victims are young children. And for every child who is killed in these accidents, another five are sent to an emergency department for treatment resulting from an accident.
If you have a swimming pool at your home, one of the best ways to help ensure children’s safety is to install a four-sided fence around it. This is going to help to keep children safe when you’re not around. These fences should be equipped with child-proof locks to help make sure that they’re not getting in while you’re not around. Most residential pools in Florida are required to be enclosed.
Another thing you want to do is make sure that the pool and the pool deck are clear of pool toys. Make sure you remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.
You should also consider enrolling your youngest family members into a swimming course. These courses have been proven to reduce your child’s risk for a drowning accident.
The Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) is here with some addition safety tips to help keep your family poolside safe.
-Make sure children are always supervised while swimming. Actively watch these young swimmers the entire time.
-Keep toys out and away from the pool to keep children from wandering near the pool when you’re not around.
-Remember to serve all food and beverages in non-breakable containers in the pool area.
-Always keep a cell or house phone while swimming. You want easy access to a phone in the event of an emergency. This is not the time to go searching for a phone.
-Make sure your vehicle is equipped with the proper safety equipment, including life rings and shepherd’s crooks.
If you or a loved one has suffered a swimming pool accident, contact Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Richard Ansara at 954 761-3641 or toll-free at 877-277-3780 for a free and confidential consultation.
