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Unfortunately, news reports of drownings are common, particularly during the summer months, but most of these tragedies are preventable. This blog will discuss 2023 summer pool safety tips to help keep you and your loved ones safe when around water.
A Los Angeles personal injury attorney could help you seek compensation if someone else’s negligence caused or contributed to your loved one’s drowning or near-drowning accident. People who survive near-drownings often face a lifetime of challenges from the lack of oxygen to the brain.
The Scope of the Problem
According to Stop Drowning Now, an alliance of educators dedicated to the prevention of drowning, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for young children, specifically those between the ages of 1 and 4 years. Around 10 people a day lose their lives from drowning, and 3,500 to 4,000 people in the United States die every year from drowning.
A drowning can happen in a surprisingly short amount of time. Unlike what we see in movies, a person can drown in as little as 20 seconds to one minute. It is not safe to step away from a swimming pool to grab something from inside the house, for example, even for a minute, if you are supervising young children or anyone else in or around the pool.
Swimming Pool Safety Tips
Stop Drowning Now offers these safety tips for everyone:
- Learn how to save someone else’s life. You can take a course in administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save precious time while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
- Learn how to swim. You might not be able to reach someone who is drowning if you do not know how to swim. Also, you will want to make sure that everyone in your household, including all children and adults, knows how to swim.
- Do not rely on pool toys as life jackets. Pool toys, whether inflatable or not, are not adequate substitutes for life jackets. Young children should wear life vests in the pool, even if they have taken formal swimming lessons.
- Be vigilant. When children, weak swimmers, and adults who cannot swim are in or around a pool, at least one person must be on duty at all times to serve as a lifeguard. It is best to take turns for brief intervals, rotating among two or more designated adults who are strong swimmers, rather than having one person responsible for multiple vulnerable people for an entire afternoon or pool party.
- Use physical barriers. There should be a fence with self-latching and self-closing gates on all four sides of a backyard swimming pool to keep people from inadvertently falling into the pool or to keep children safe from the temptation of going into the pool when unsupervised.
In addition, you should always use common sense around pools and be mindful of the dangers they present.
A Los Angeles personal injury attorney could handle your swimming pool accident case so that you can focus on getting better and rebuilding your life. We offer a free initial consultation with no obligation. Contact our office today.