Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Public swimming pools operated by States, Counties, and Cities have a duty to install and maintain proper swimming pool drain covers to comply with an important law called the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. This law was signed by President Bush on December 19, 2007 and was put in place to prevent drownings and other injuries caused by drains that do not have proper drain covers to prevent such drownings and entrapments. You can read the federal law at Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.

Having safety precautions in place at a swimming pool can help avoid personal injuries and drowning deaths. It is also important to have diligent supervision both by lifeguards and parents when children are in or around a swimming pool.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

You can read a very good article with safety tips and advice to prevent personal injuries and deaths related to child drownings at How to Plan for the Unexpected - Preventing Child Drownings. Drowning related injuries and deaths can be prevented by following the tips in this article. Parents, guardians, teachers, summer camp counselors, and others should view all bodies of waters including swimming pools, spas, canals, lakes, and other waterways as very dangerous areas. Strong adults drown every year. Some even are decent swimmers. As such, children especially young ones who cannot swim at all are at serious risk of harm when they go into water without proper safety precautions or supervision. Anytime a child is near swimming pools and other water ways or has access - be diligent. Do not underestimate the dangers to children. You would not underestimate the danger of a blazing fire which can cause severe and permanent harm to child. In a similar manner, do not underestimate the danger of unsupervised swimming.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Many families with pet dogs install doggie doors to allow easy access for dogs to go in and out of a house or patio area. Doggie doors are very convenient. Doggie doors can also be dangerous in that small children / toddlers get out of house through the doggie door. Once out of the house, small children / toddlers have been known to suffer serious personal injuries and death from pools, ponds, and other dangers outside of the house. In August 2006, Matthew Ranfone got out of a doggie door from his Orlando home and was found floating face down in the family pool. He died later from drowning related injuries. Carol Ranone, Matthew's mother, has launched a website to get the word out about the dangers of pet doors / doggie doors and small children at www.petacessdangers.org. I recommend that all dog owners who are parents of small children or who have small children in their home to take a look at the website. The safety of small children / toddlers is much more important than the mere convenience of a doggie door. Safeguard your home to the best of your ability to protect children who live or visit your home.

You can read more about the dangers of doggie doors at Pet Doors and Crawling Kids Can Be a Deadly Combination.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Spokane County, Washington and other counties, maintenance supervisors have a duty to make sure that the public swimming pools are clean and safe for children. If there is a mechanical, maintenance, or hygiene issue with a swimming pools, government officials have a duty to repair, clean, and / or shut down the pool. In Spokane County, Washington, the opening of public swimming pools have been delayed by a maintenance problem or defect in the pool drains. There appears to be a problem with suction that could, in turn, trap a child and lead to a drowning and serious personal injury or death. A federal law requires that drain covers be placed over drains to prevent these kind of tragedies. The federal law requiring such a drain cover is named after a child (Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act) who got caught in a drain in Florida. You can read more about this story at Spokane County Washington Delays Opening of Public Pools.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Summer camps are typically filled with friendship, fun, and the great outdoors. When there is a large congregation or gathering of children around, there are, at times, outbreaks of Influenza and other communicable diseases. It can be quite stressful for both the child and the parent, who is typically hundreds of miles away, to deal with an illness at camp. Most reputable summer camps have a doctor on staff to address the basic health needs of the child. Beyond the camp confines, there should be a medical facility, hospital, or clinic available for more in depth medical care and evaluation. Influenza can be quite troublesome and risky. It is spread person to person and even by object. For instance, a child can wipe his or her nose and then touch a door knob. This, in turn, can lead to the infection of another child. The Influenza virus can live for several days on an object like a door knob or a toy.

What should parents do when a child gets sick at camp? I recommend that the parent keep in close contact with the camp and the camp doctor. Ask to speak to your child. Many camps prohibit telephone contact due to a child becoming homesick. However, there are always exceptions and extraordinary circumstances beyond these in house camp rules.

I also recommend that parents consult with the child's own pediatrician and an Infectious Disease doctor for guidance and follow up. Get the summer camp to fax you the medical records so you can see what is being documented and done for your child's illness at summer camp.

You can read more about Influenza at When Your Child Is Sick - Influenza in Children.

By John Jensen, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Day care centers in North Carolina and other states provide children with recreational activities like swimming especially during summer months. Children love to play in and around water. Young children often times do not appreciate the dangers of water. Furthermore, young children lack judgment as to their swimming abilities or lack of swimming abilities. As such, North Carolina has set forth specific staffing requirements for staff ratios when children participate in aquatic activities which include boating, swimming, and visits to water parks. North Carolina day care centers are required to have the following staff ratios in place for aquatic activities:

Age of Children Ratio of Staff to Children in Day Care Program
3 to 4 year olds 1 staff member for every 8 children
4 to 5 year olds 1 staff member for every 10 children
5 years and older 1 staff member for every 13 children

Regardless of the total number of children, North Carolina law requires at least 2 staff members for supervision of children participating in aquatic activities. While adhering to these standards is important, compliance with the staff ratio requirements must be combined with good training and diligent supervision. Day care staff members must closely supervise the children around aquatic activities including swimming. Otherwise, children are at great risk for serious personal injuries from drowning or near drowning incidents. You can read more about the staff ratio requirements and other regulations regarding day care aquatic activities and swimming supervision at the North Carolina Administrative Code Title 10 A - Health and Human Services - Chapter 9 - Day Care Rules.

By John Jensen, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Day care centers in North Carolina and other states provide children with a wide variety of recreational, exercise,and sports related activities. Children love to swim and play around water. While the aquatic and swimming activities can be quite fun for children, they can also be very dangerous. Tragically, as a result of improper day care supervision, negligence, or inattention, children suffer serious personal injuries including brain damage and wrongful death from drownings and related incidents.

Aquatic activities include on site and off site activities that take place in, on, or around a body of water including swimming, wading, swimming instruction, visits to water parks, and boating. For every 25 children participating in such activities, North Carolina law requires at least one person who has a current life guard training certificate issued by the Red Cross or other training that is similar or equivalent to the Red Cross. The North Carolina day care center regulations generally discourage aquatic activities for children under the age of 3 unless the activities are necessary to meet a child's special needs set forth in child's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Children participating in aquatic / swimming activities shall be property supervised at all times. You can read more about Aquatic Activities regulations at the North Carolina Administrative Code Title 10 A - Health and Human Services - Chapter 9 - Day Care Rules.

By Scott A. Marks, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Emergency rooms in California and other states get their fair share of child injury patients. Summer is a peak season for drowning related personal injuries and deaths throughout California and many other states. It is estimated that approximately 70 % of all child drownings take place in the three months summer period of June, July and August. Most of the tragic injuries and deaths related to child drownings in California involve children who are found in residential / backyard swimming pools and spas. Parents, guardians, and / or caregivers fail to realize that a child was in the swimming area or got out of the house. Because of this, it is important to have barriers like fences and gates to keep children out of pools even when they get out of the house unsupervised. Drownings can be significantly reduced with proper supervision and safety precautions like gates, fences, and pool alarms.

Educate yourself as to safety measures to prevent child drownings at 10 Rules to Prevent Child Drownings

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Tennessee and other states, swimming pools can pose a serious risks of serious injury and death to children who do not appreciate or understand the risks associated with swimming pools. Pools that do not have secure gates, barriers, and / or lifeguards pose a particularly high risk of danger. This is especially true when evaluating pools at apartment complexes, condominiums, resorts, hotels, motels, summer camps, and other areas.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, a three year boy was seriously injured when he fell into a pool at an apartment complex in Knoxville according to the Knoxville Police Department. Two cousins ages seven and three were playing with friends at the Zaina apartment complex on Hialeah Drive at the time of the incident.

While there was a nurse in the area who performed CPR, the child was still seriously injured and rushed to East Tennessee Children's Hospital.

Early news report did not release the name of the child or his condition upon arrival at the hospital. While the children did not reside at the apartment complex, the owners of the complex still had a duty to provide reasonable safety precautions as to the pool and other common areas as to visitors including children to the apartment complex. You can read more about this story at 3 Year Old Child Seriously Hurt After Falling into Apartment Complex Swimming Pool in Tennessee.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Arizona and other States, rivers can be quite dangerous places even for strong young men who believe that they can easily deal with the strong currents, frigid temperatures, and other hazards. Tragically, a dead body was found which will most likely be identified as one of three who jumped into the Colorado River on a hiking trip. The two teens and man were not wearing life vests or jackets. Until family members are contacted and the body is positively identified, the name of the victim will not be released by a newspaper. Search efforts continue for the other two people who were swept away by the strong river current. Grand Canyon Officials identified the three victims as Saif Savaya (age 15), Mark Merrill (age 16) and Joe Merrill (age 22).

I have visited Colorado within the past year and went white water rafting. I was told that the river had some strong areas but paled in comparison with other rivers. Nevertheless, I wore a life vest / life jacket and did not challenge the water by jumping into the cold waters.

It would be interesting to know more details about the incident with the three people who were swept away from the current. In particular, the following issues or questions come to mind:

Did others from the group jump into the Colorado River?

What warnings (if any) were the three people given as to the dangers of the river?

Did the three people ignore warning sizes or instructions not to go into the river?

Who was the guide or supervisor of the tour group?

What were the swimming skills of the three people?

Were there other areas of the river available or near by that would have been safer to go into?

It is tragic for a teenager or young man to lose his life at such a young age. You can read more about this story at One of Three Swept Away in Grand Canyon Found Dead.

By Steven Smith, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

New York day care and child care centers are regulated by the New York Office of Children and Family Services. Pursuant to Section 418-1.5, Safety of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR), child care centers must have railings from the floor or ground to prevent children from falling off of porches, stairs, and decks. In addition, child care centers must provide and maintain barriers to keep children out of and away from unsafe and dangerous area. In particular, a child care center must have barriers in place in areas where there is a swimming pool, drainage ditch, well, hole, wood / coal burning stove, fireplace, and gas heater.

New York day care centers have a duty and responsibility to follow these regulations not only to comply with the laws but also to keep children safe. Properly installed and maintained railings and barriers can help prevent or reduce the number of child injuries from falls, dangerous conditions, and drownings.

By Jeremy Vishno and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Connecticut, a family went snow tubing at a recreational facility. In order to use the snow tubing area, the business / recreational facility required the family to sign liability waivers which purported to release the snow tubing recreational facility from liability even if there was negligence on the part of the facility. The family went snow tubing that day and a child was injured when his foot got caught between the snow tube and a man made bank. The parents sued on behalf of the child who had a number of surgeries due to the personal injuries sustained during the snow tubing outing. The trial court threw out the case and this ruling was appealed and ultimately reached the Connecticut Supreme Court. The justices on the Supreme Court reversed the trial judge's ruling and ruled that the liability waiver was invalid and against public policy for the State of Connecticut.

Whether your child is injured in Connecticut or any other State, it makes sense to consult with an attorney as to liability or responsibility for the child's injuries when the injuries were caused by the negligence of a person or business. Florida is another State where the Supreme Court has invalidated liability releases of this nature. The rulings of the highest courts in both Connecticut and Florida make sense since the rulings favor the best interests of the child and safety over protecting a business or person from negligent action or inactions leading to personal injuries of death. You can read more about the Connecticut snow tubing ruling at Connecticut Supreme Court Strikes Down Liability Waivers as Against Public Policy.

By Stephanie Brown, Attorney, and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In the Georgia and other states around the nation, there are negligence, liability, or fault laws in place. Some States have more favorable laws and rulings in place that others for children and families seeking compensation for personal injuries / wrongful death than others. A Georgia Court of Appeals decision in June 2008 ruled that the family of a child who drowned and died could not recover compensation from the apartment complex / property owner. The Georgia Court ruled in favor of the apartment complex owner since the Court determined that the child knew or should have known of the danger of the swimming pool when the child entered the apartment complex pool. The Georgia Court put the responsibility of the incident the child rather than the apartment complex. The ruling was made in the case - Rice v. Oaks Investors, II, Georgia Court of Appeals, A08A0434 (June, 26, 2008).

The apartment complex in this case had a duty to provide a safe environment for residents, children, and their guests. When the apartment complex owners decided to offer pool amenities to guests, it had a duty (in our opinion) to maintain a safe environment for children which included putting up reasonable barriers, gates, and locks. Each case should be evaluated on its own merits. It would seem reasonable that the actions of a 6 year old should be judged differently than those of a 17 year old. Due to the flexibility and ambiguity of many laws in Georgia and other States, it makes sense to get an evaluation / consultation from a Georgia child personal injury lawyer / attorney. The facts in a particular case may very well be different than those in the Rice case. Regardless of the civil liability or monetary liability in a particular case, an apartment complex, business, and home should take reasonable precautions to keep children away and out of pools which would include barriers, gates, locks, alarms, signs, and other measures to protect children from serious bodily injury and wrongful death. Children often times lack good judgment and appreciation for dangers. That is why it is so important to keep safety as the primary focus when offering any kind of play / recreational amenity like swimming pools and playgrounds for children.

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

A near drowning incident of a 2 year old (Jessica Wheat) in an apartment complex pool in Lake Charles, Louisiana shows the importance of safety precautions and measures for swimming pools that can be accessed by children. There was a four foot fence around the pool at the Wilshire Apartments which was undergoing renovation. In fact, the pool had been closed for about 1 year. Unfortunately, someone had removed some of the fence near the locked gate. This, in turn, had given access to Jessica to get into the pool.

The reason for proper barriers, fences, and safety measures is to protect children from serious personal injuries and wrongful death. It is well known that children will wander. Children are curious and think of pools and other areas as places of adventure rather than places of danger. These attractive nuisances need to be safeguarded to prevent tragedies like the Jessica Wheat incident from taking place. You can read more about the Jennifer Wheat incident at Near Drowning at Lake Charles, Louisiana Apartment Complex. The near drowning incident put Jennifer Wheat in critical condition and into the Memorial Hospital.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 300 and 350 children drown every year in swimming pools. Most of the incidents took place while the child was being supervised by a parent. Furthermore, the drowning incidents typically involved inattention by the supervising parent or adult for five minutes or less.

Because of the shear danger of drownings and swimming pools, it is vital for Louisiana parents, caregivers, and adults responsible for the supervision of children to be diligent at all times for the safety, protection, and welfare of children. Children die every year in public pools, neighbor's and friend's pools and, yes, at home. You can read about a tragic death that took place in Houma, Louisiana at Grieving Louisiana Family Aims to Get Swimming Pool Law in Effect.

Whether there is a law in your State requiring a barrier or fence or not, all pool owners including homeowners, hotels, motels, and resorts should take reasonable precautions to prevent drowning deaths and serious injuries to children.