West Virginia Swimming Pool Injury Attorney
Swimming pools can provide hours of fun for children and families, as well as a great form of low-impact exercise. They can also be extremely dangerous for children, especially those under five years old. If your life has been impacted by a swimming pool injury or death in West Virginia (WV), contact a knowledgeable and professional West Virginia swimming pool injury attorney at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson for a free consultation on your claim.
When Do You Need a West Virginia Swimming Pool Injury Attorney?
Thousands of near-drowning injuries and hundreds of fatal drowning accidents occur every year, and victims of these accidents and their families may have a claim for compensation if those injuries were the result of the pool owner’s negligence. Swimming pool owners and operators have an obligation to ensure that the pool and surrounding area meet certain standards that are intended to protect the public and prevent drowning and near-drowning incidents.
When swimming pool owners and operators are negligent, the worst can happen. If you or a family member has been affected by a swimming pool injury in WV and the incident occurred as a result of another party’s negligence or wrongdoing, you need to contact a qualified WV swimming pool injury lawyer as soon as possible to begin gathering evidence to support your claim.
How Likely Are You to Suffer a Swimming Pool Injury in WV?
According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), drowning is one of the leading causes of death among children under the age of 15. An average of 3,960 unintentional fatal drownings and 8,080 nonfatal drowning incidents occur each year in the US. Even when swimming pool accidents aren’t fatal, they can be serious.
According to Pool Safely, a campaign to improve pool and spa safety by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 6,800 nonfatal drowning injuries among children under the age of 15 were reported in 2021. Eighty percent of these children were under the age of five. In cases with available location data, 73 percent of nonfatal emergency room visits for drowning incidents involving children under the age of five occurred at a private residence, while the remaining 27 percent happened at public locations.
Drowning was a top ten cause of unintentional injury and death related to unintentional injury for all age groups under 85 in West Virginia between 2010 and 2020, according to data from the CDC. If your family has been affected by a swimming pool injury death in WV, contact the WV swimming pool injury lawyers at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson to find out if you may be entitled to compensation from the pool owner or operator.
The Obligation to Prevent Swimming Pool Injury in WV
A swimming pool or spas are referred to in legal terms as attractive nuisances. Attractive nuisances are potentially-dangerous conditions on an owner’s property that the owner knew could attract children. Even if a child wasn’t invited to use the swimming pool, owners can be held responsible for a child’s injuries in their pool.
If a neighbor or visiting child is drawn to the pool and injured, an owner who did not install adequate safety measures can be held responsible for the resulting medical expenses, pain and suffering, or even wrongful death. The WV swimming pool injury lawyers at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson can help you determine if you are entitled to file a lawsuit based on a swimming pool accident.
A West Virginia Swimming Pool Injury Attorney Explains Laws Governing Safety Measures
Many residential swimming pool accidents are the result of owners failing to spend the necessary time and attention on putting safety measures in place to protect children from a swimming pool injury in WV. Owners should install a four-foot fence with a self-latching gate around their pool, as well as a mechanical pool cover that can protect children who manage to get past the fence. There are also federal laws governing the types of drain covers that owners must use to prevent small children from being drowned due to drain suction.
Seek Help from a West Virginia Swimming Pool Injury Attorney
If you need help pursuing a claim for wrongful death or injury-related expenses after a swimming pool injury in WV, contact the seasoned, knowledgeable, and aggressive West Virginia swimming pool injury lawyers at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson. Call 304-263-0900 or fill out our online contact form to connect with an experienced West Virginia swimming pool injury attorney today.