Swimming Pools Are a Leading Cause of Child Deaths

With Memorial Day fast approaching, many neighborhood pools will be opening up and kids will be heading to the water to cool off.

While swimming pools are fun, few kids are aware of the inherent dangers of pools and even their parents may not be familiar with the extent of the risks.

Each day nine people die of drowning in the United States. Every year about 280 children under the age of five lose their lives in swimming-pool related accidents and about 2,700 people are admitted to emergency rooms.

In 2009, 564,000 people were prevented from drowning by a life guard but many neighborhood pools lack life guards and you are unlikely to have one in your home.

Here are some other alarming statistics about swimming pools.

• Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death among kids under 14.
• Drowning is the leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children aged 1 to 4.
• Boys are more likely to drown than girls. They have a drowning rate more than two times that of female children. However, females having a bathtub drowning rate twice that of males.
• Among children ages 1 to 4 years, most residential swimming pools are the biggest cause of drowning deaths.

Notwithstanding the tragic statistics, not all injuries sustained in swimming pools are fatal and you can take steps to avoid them. You should also be aware there are a number of other accident scenarios and dangers posed by pools as well as drowning. Swimming pools pose a variety of dangers – not just drowning. Slippery sidewalks can lead to fall injuries while other hazards include electrical defects, diving boards and slides which can cause fatal or non-fatal injuries. There even been cases of children being severely injured, or even disemboweled by public pool drains.

The victim of a swimming pool injury may suffer lifelong injuries.  Many victims of serious injuries also end up suffering from severe emotional and psychological scaring as well.

There are steps you can take to safeguard your kids in the swimming pool.

1 Give your kids swimming lessons before they use a pool;

2 Tell children to never play near drains or suction outlets;

3 Do not enter a pool with a loose, broken or missing drain cover;

4 Make sure family pools have a fence around them to and a locked gate to prevent small children drowning;

5 Always supervise children in the pool or make sure another responsible adult is watching them

6 Remove flotation devices and toys from a pool that’s not in use. They may encourage children to go in.

7 If you are on vacation, make sure to inquire about the safety of pools in recreational centers, parks and hotels.

In some cases dangerous swimming pools may give rise to personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. This could include cases at facilities with lifeguards who fail to do their job. If you or a loved one has had a swimming pool accident, call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077 or see CooperHurley.com.