Young Boy Stable After Miami Pool Incident
A seven-year-old child is in stable condition after being found without a pulse at the bottom of a swimming pool at a Miami hotel one recent evening. According to reports, the young child was with his family visiting friends at the hotel at the time of the incident. Details regarding the incident are sparse, but upon finding the boy in the pool, fire rescue was alerted and responded quickly. According to some witnesses, there was a barbeque going on when the incident occurred. Fire rescue was able to revive the boy, but during the ride to the trauma center he lost his pulse again. Hospital personnel were able to stabilize the boy once he arrived at the hospital.
Florida’s Statistics On Child Drowning Deaths
The boy in this incident was lucky; for many other children, the outcome is not a positive. Sadly, Florida leads the country in child drowning deaths for children ages one to four years old, a tragic statistic offered by the Florida Department of Health. Florida ranks second in the country for drowning deaths in the larger age group of children from one to fourteen years of age. Looking at the country as a whole, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ten people die each day from accidental drowning; these deaths are fifth on the list of unintentional injury deaths in the country.
Whose Responsibility Is It When A Drowning Occurs?
When a tragedy such as a drowning occurs, we often struggle to determine who should bear the responsibility. In many cases, the owner of the property is held responsible for injuries and deaths that occur in their pool through the theory of premises liability. In short, premises liability means that you, as the owner of the premises, are liable for accidents that occur on your property.
Specific Laws Regarding Private Pool Ownership And Safety
Regulations regarding safety are in place for both public and private pools, and Florida Code sets forth the law with respect to a residential pool owner’s responsibilities regarding safety in Section 515, the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act. Pursuant to the Act, specific requirements must be met by a private pool owner for safety features and barriers and a private pool owner who fails to meet these requirements can charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. Penalties for such crimes can be avoided by compliance with the act and attendance at an approved drowning prevention education program, if one is available, within a specified time period.
Do You Need Legal Help?
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident on someone’s property due to the property owner’s negligence, the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. is here to help. Our Miami premises liability Attorneys will speak with you to gather information about the circumstances surrounding the accident and will help you to understand how the legal system will handle your case. You deserve to have the best working on your side and you will have that with the legal professionals at the Office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation.
