Arizona Pool Accident Injury Lawyers

Know Your Rights If You Get Injured In a Swimming Pool

When most people think of personal injury lawyers, they think of lawsuits resulting from car accidents or slip and falls. But personal injury lawsuits can arise from several types of incidents, including accidents in swimming pools. With summer just around the corner, it can be helpful to know your rights if you are injured while using someone else’s swimming pool. You could be entitled to substantial compensation for your injuries. For a more detailed review of your claim, call 480-833-8000 or use our online form to request your free consultation.

Pool Safety Information

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, there are 11 fatal drownings and 22 nonfatal drownings per day. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 behind birth defects. It is the second cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1-14 behind car crashes. Approximately 80% of drowning victims are male. And while these numbers are already scary, they increase in Arizona due to the warm weather and how many people have swimming pools in their backyards. Ten people have died in water-related incidents in 2022 as of March 14. The drowning rate of preschoolers in Arizona is about double the national average.

Many factors can increase the probability of drowning, or having a pool-related accident in general. A huge factor is whether or not someone knows how to swim. Seizure disorders and other medical conditions can make someone more likely to drown. Especially when children are involved, lack of adult supervision can increase the likelihood of a pool accident. The same goes for lack of proper fencing around a pool. Drugs and alcohol can increase the likelihood of a pool accident, while life vests can decrease the likelihood.

Even when a drowning doesn’t result in death, the consequences can be severe. Nonfatal drowning can cause aspiration pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hypothermia, and brain damage. Swimming pool accidents can also result in broken bones and other serious injuries. You should see a doctor as soon as possible after experiencing a swimming pool injury.

Arizona Pool Requirements

Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-1681 sets out the standards for pools in residences with children under the age of 6. It applies to pools of water at least 18 inches deep and at least 8 feet wide at one point. There must be a fence at least 5 feet high fully surrounding the pool with a self-closing, self-latching gate. It must be at least 20 inches from the water’s edge. The fence shouldn’t have any round openings of more than 4 inches or footholds and other features that could be used to climb the fence.

Collectable Damages in Injury Claims

If you are injured in someone’s swimming pool, you most likely will be dealing with their homeowner’s insurance. While they won’t be eager to pay out, there are numerous types of damages that you may be able to collect as a result of your injuries.

Even if your medical insurance covered all of your expenses from the accident with no out of pocket costs for you, medical bills would still be collectable in a personal injury claim. You can collect all of your medical expenses in the claim, and then your medical insurance will be reimbursed for what you spent through a process called “subrogation.” If your injuries require future medical treatment or are permanent, you will also need to estimate those future medical expenses and include them in your claim.

Injuries from a pool accident could easily cause you to miss obligations like work and school. You can be compensated for these losses in your personal injury claim. If your injuries are so severe that they will permanently impede your career progression, you can be compensated for that as well. Clearly, this damage can be difficult to complicate, especially if you don’t work a salaried position. An experienced Gilbert injury attorney can help you estimate a fair number for this damage category.

Dealing with your injuries is far more complicated than paying your medical bills and catching up at work. Healing your injuries can be painful, both physically and emotionally. You will never be able to get back the time you spend at the hospital, in doctors’ offices, etc. You could be left with depression, insomnia, and other psychological side effects due to your injuries. And injury law recognizes that you should be compensated for this trauma. This is known as Pain and Suffering.

There are several techniques you can use to calculate your pain and suffering damages. The most common way to do it, however, is by using the Multiplier Method. Here, the first step is to add up all the damages described above that you incurred. The sum will be multiplied by the appropriate multiplier for your case. The multiplier is usually a number between 1 and 5. A relatively minor injury would be closer to 1, while severe and permanent injuries would be closer to 5. Contact a Mesa injury attorney for more information about calculating your pain and suffering damages.

Visitor Status

The owner of the pool in which you were injured generally owes you a standard of care- but the type of standard of care that they owe you depends on your status as a visitor on the property. The three categories are invitees, licensees, and trespassers. An invitee doesn’t necessarily have to be literally “invited” somewhere, but it should be reasonably expected that they would show up. For example, if you own a restaurant, a patron of your restaurant would be an invitee. A licensee is someone with express or implied permission to be somewhere, such as a guest at a pool party. A trespasser is someone who has no authorization to be on the property.

Invitees are entitled to the highest standard of care when they are on someone else’s property. The property owner should keep the area safe and warn guests of any potential hazards on the property. Licensees are owed a slightly lower standard of care. They must be warned of any potential hazards that aren’t obvious. Trespassers are due the lowest standard of care by property owners. A property owner must make sure that there isn’t anything dangerous on their property that could attract child trespassers, also known as attractive nuisance doctrine.

Keep More of Your Injury Award With Our Arizona Accident Lawyers

When you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, hiring a dedicated personal injury attorney in Chandler can help strengthen your claim. The good news is that most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning they don’t get paid unless they win (or settle) your case. The unfortunate part is that many attorneys will take up to 33% or more of your final award. At My AZ Lawyers, we understand how vital your settlement money can be after a swimming pool accident, and offer a guaranteed contingency fee of 25%. That 8% or more in savings could result in thousands of extra dollars in your bank account. But you don’t have to read to believe- call 480-833-8000 or fill out our online form to schedule your free appointment with one of our experienced Arizona injury lawyers.