Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
During summer months as well as other times of the year, children enrolled in schools, day camps, day care centers and summer camps often visit community pools, water parks, and other swimming areas. Some schools, summer camps, and day care centers even have their own swimming pools. While water, swimming, and aquatic activities can be a great source of fun for children, they can also present significant risk to a child. Of course, the drowning death of a child is a catastrophic and tragic event that certainly warrants at the pursuit of a legal case or claim and involves or should involve significant compensation. As a child injury attorney, I am often asked the following question:
What are the dangers or risks of injuries and drownings in lakes rivers and ponds? Summer time is filled with picnics, vacations, and swimming in most parts of the United States. On any typical weekend, including holiday weekends over the summer, children enjoy swimming, boating, and aquatic related activities. In most cases, a day filled with fun. Unfortunately, some children are the unfortunate victims of serious personal injuries and drowning incidents during outings to lakes, rivers, and ponds. There are many risks and dangers associated with swimming and aquatic related injuries.
The Pool Safety Campaign emphasizes the importance of installing barriers around outdoor swimming pools. By doing so, parents are limiting pool access to adults only. This is the best way to keep children safe. A successful pool barrier prevents a child from getting over, under or through to gain access to the pool or spa. Successful barriers include fences, walls, and gates.
Quest Alliance, a day care center for special needs children located in Phoenix, Arizona, is charged with negligence for the second time after 6-year-old Tanner was left in a hot van, in the middle of the day, for more than an hour.
A near drowning of a seven-year-old boy has caused the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to shut down three western Pennsylvania day care centers. Allegedly, a young boy almost drowned during an overnight camping trip and was saved by a nine-year-old girl. No adults saw the boy almost drown.
In Georgia and other States, there are dangers in most residential communities. What is one of the most common dangers? Ponds and lakes are among the most common dangers in residential neighborhoods. While the scenery and view of a lake or pond can be quite beautiful, there are risks of these water ways especially to young children. Many lakes and ponds are not fenced or otherwise situated to prevent young children from wandering into them. Because of this, young children die every year from accidental drownings. One such drowning was recently reported in near Chatsworth, Georgia. A 22 month old child (Aiden Hammontree) apparently wandered into a pond near the family home and drowned. The death of this child is certainly a tragic loss for the family, neighborhood, church, and the community. See 
The Oregon State Police believe that two teenage boys drowned after waves swept the boys off a rocking outcropping and into the ocean. According to Lt. Gregg Hastings, the body of 18-year-old Connor Gregory Ausland was found. However, authorities have yet to find 17-year-old Jack Harnsongkram. Both young men are residents of Eugene, Orgeon, and were students at South Eugene High School. Hastings also stated that the two teenagers were visiting the area, near Smelt Sands State Park in Lincoln County, with a group of other teens and adults. A local television station reported that a third teen was also knocked into the surf by the powerful waves but manages to get out safely. Police believe that both Ausland and Harnsongkram drowned. For more details please read 
A little girl, believed to be about 3-years-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is clinging on to life after falling into her family’s in-ground pool. The child was playing with her parents outside in the family’s backyard when in a moment’s time the parents discovered their child was gone. After searching the nearby area, the child’s father found her in the pool, which was almost drained and had only a few feet of water in the pool. The parents performed CPR on the child until rescue units arrived. Once the paramedics arrived they performed CPR on the child until arriving at the hospital. Doctors at the emergency rooms reported they did discover vital signs.