Drowning Accident Lawyer – Fighting for Victims

What is a drowning accident lawyer?

A drowning accident lawyer can help victims file a personal injury claim for compensation against the responsible parties. If the accident was a fatal one, a lawyer can help the loved ones of a drowning victim file a wrongful death claim. In California, wrongful death claims are often accompanied by a survival action by the victim’s estate.

How common are drowning cases or swimming pool accidents?

In the U.S. every year, there are around 3,960 unintentional drownings that are fatal and another 8,080 that are not fatal but that required hospitalization. That makes for an average of 11 fatal drownings and 22 non-fatal drownings every day.¹ These numbers do not include drowning fatalities or injuries from boating accidents.

Many of these incidents involve a child drowning. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for young children between the ages of 1 and 14.²

Are they always fatal?

No, not all drownings are fatal.

A drowning happens when you stop breathing because you are submerged in a liquid, like if you are under water.

A drowning is fatal if it lasts long enough that you die of suffocation. This happens when water fills up your lungs. This prevents you from breathing. Oxygen stops getting delivered to your heart, brain, and other organs. Without oxygen, they stop working.

Non-fatal drownings, also known as near-drowning accidents, happen if you stop breathing because you were under water, but are rescued before you suffocate. Depending on how long you were without oxygen, you may still suffer serious injuries, like:

• brain damage and other brain injuries,
• acute respiratory distress syndrome, and
• pneumonia, or a fluid buildup in the lungs.

There also may be other drowning injuries from the accident that put you at risk of drowning, like a spinal cord injury after diving into a shallow pool.

Who can be held liable?

The owner of the swimming pool can be held liable for a drowning incident. This is often done through the law of premises liability. If the drowning accident happened in a public swimming pool, though, there may be complications.

If the accident happened in a private pool, the owner can be held liable. Swimming pool owners have a legal duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. In California, all of the circumstances surrounding the accident can be used to determine if this duty was breached.³ Some important factors include:

• whether the victim was invited or was trespassing,
• the age of the victim,
• whether the pool was adequately secured according to the California Swimming Pool Safety Act,⁴
• whether the owner could have taken further steps to prevent the incident, like fix a broken latch on the gate to the pool,
• whether the owner provided negligent supervision, and
• how foreseeable the accident had been.

In many cases, the owner of the pool is the property owner. This includes owners of:

• an apartment complex with a pool,
• spas or hot tubs,
• resorts,
• hotels,
• water parks, and
• land with natural bodies of water, like lakes or ponds.

If the accident was in a public pool, then any lawsuit that would be filed over the drowning would be against a public entity. The rules of premises liability are the same, as the government has a legal duty of care to keep the pool in a reasonably safe condition. However, the pertinent facts of the case may be different, like whether:

• the incident was caused by a lack of supervision,
• there were lifeguards on duty,
• those lifeguards were adequately trained,
• lifejackets were offered or available,
• swimming at the pool was expressly at the swimmers’ own risk, and
• a liability waiver was required before swimming.

Additionally, there are often additional filing requirements that have to be met. Punitive damages may not be available.

What compensation is available?

The types of compensation that are available will mainly depend on whether the case is filed as a:

• personal injury claim, or
• wrongful death claim.

Regardless, it is critical for you to recover the compensation that you are entitled to receive.

Personal injury lawsuit

If the accident was not a fatal one, then the victim can file a personal injury claim. If successful, these lawsuits can recover financial compensation for your medical expenses, including those that are likely to accrue in the future. They can also recover compensation for lost wages, reduced earning capacity caused by any disabilities, and for your pain and suffering. Family members and loved ones can also recover compensation for loss of companionship.

Wrongful death lawsuit

Fatal drowning accidents can lead to a wrongful death lawsuit. These are filed by the victim’s family members. They can recover compensation for burial expenses and the financial support that the victim would have provided over the course of his or her lifetime. They can also recover compensation for their loss of companionship, as well as for the victim’s pain and suffering.⁵ However, they cannot recover punitive damages.

Additionally, the victim’s estate can file a survival action. These can recover financial compensation for the victim’s losses before his or her death. It includes the types of compensation that are available in normal personal injury claims, like lost wages and medical bills.

What is a wrongful death and survival action in California?

A wrongful death claim and a survival action are 2 types of lawsuits that can be filed after a fatal drowning accident.

The wrongful death claim:

• is filed by the victim’s family members, and
• recovers financial compensation for losses sustained by those family members due to the drowning death.⁶

The survival action claim:

• is filed by the victim’s estate,
• recovers financial compensation for losses to the estate sustained between the accident and the death, and
• can recover punitive damages.⁷

How can a drowning accident lawyer help?

A drowning accident attorney from a reputable California law firm can help by increasing the settlement offers that the liable parties’ insurance companies make. A personal injury attorney’s legal advice can also help you understand your legal rights and what you are entitled to receive. This allows you to make an informed decision about whether to accept a settlement from the defendant’s legal team or not.

If a fair settlement offer is not made, your drowning lawyer can file a lawsuit for you. Filing the injury case often spurs settlement negotiations. If a fair offer is still not made, your personal injury lawyer can provide legal representation at trial and present your best case to the jury for their verdict.

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