Each year nationwide about 300 children under 5 years old drown in swimming pools, usually a pool owned by their family. In addition, more than 2,000 children under 5 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for submersion injuries.
The US Consumer and Product Safety Commission in a comprehensive study of drowning and submersion incidents involving children under 5 which occurred in Arizona, California and Florida concluded the following:
1. 75% of the submersion victims studied were between 1-3 years old; 65% of this group were boys.
2. Toddlers, in particular, often do something unexpected because their capabilities change daily.
3. At the time of the incidents, most victims were being supervised by one or both parents. 46% of the victims were last seen in the house; 23% were last seen in the yard or on the porch or patio; 31% were in or around the pool before the accident. In all 69% of the children were not expected to be at or in the pool yet they would found in the water.
4. The study also concluded that submersion incidents involving children usually happen in familiar surroundings. 65% of the incidents happen in a pool owned by the child’s family and 33% of the incidents happen in a pool owned by friends or relatives.
5. Pool submersion involving children happened quickly. A child can drown in the time that it takes to answer a phone. 77% of the victims had been missing from site for about 5 minutes or less.
6. Survival depends on rescuing the child quickly and restarted the breathing process while the child is still in the water. Seconds count in preventing death or brain injury.
7. Child drownings are silent death. There is no splashing to alert anyone but the child is in trouble.
The following are some of the measures, which can be taken, to equip private pools regardless of when they were constructed, to protect against this terrible tragedy from ever occurring.
Child proof fences or other barriers such as a wall should be installed completely around the pool. Doors leading from the house to the pool should be equipped with an alarm or the pool should have a power safety cover which would require that it would withstand the weight of 2 adults and a child to allow a rescue should an individual fall onto the cover.
The important fact to remember when there are children in or around a swimming pool is that even with adults present, the child drowning or submersion injury can occur when the adults are distracted even for a few seconds. The safety precautions should be in place whenever it is anticipated that children 5 years old or younger, are anticipated to be either near or at the pool area.
If your family has been involved in this type of tragic circumstance or situation, please contact Gary Sernaker for any assistance he can offer you.
Photo Credit: Mercy Health, Flickr.
The most frequently asked question by my clients is how long it will take to finalize or resolve their personal injury case. It is important to understand that each case is different. Each one is typically resolved based upon its own unique set of facts. However, there are certain guidelines which do apply.
If a client undergoes medical care for a muscle straining/spraining type injuries (i.e. whiplash injuries) which require weeks or months of physical therapy and follow-up examinations by their physician, typically they are in a position to have their case resolved within 30-60 days from the time that the individual is pain-free from their injury related symptoms.
However, those individuals who suffer more serious injuries to their spine or joints (i.e. internal injury to the knee, rotator cuff damage to the shoulder or spinal damage) usually involve a longer period of time in order to determine the full nature and extent of their injuries. Whether the injured party will require surgery and then wait until the surgery is performed in order to make sure that an optimum recovery has been attained with no complications.
Often, it is possible to resolve an injured party’s case, prior to surgery, if a determination is made regarding the amount of the policy limits in effect at the time that the incident occurred. It may be possible to resolve the case for the same maximum insurance coverage prior to surgery, which typically would be offered after the injured party undergoes surgery and incurs the additional medical expenses.
The distinction is that if the case can be resolved prior to surgery, then the injured party can avoid providing reimbursement to their healthcare provider for the costs of the hospitalization and related surgery. This distinction only applies for private insurance carriers and not to Medi-Care.
An experienced personal injury attorney, can discuss with you the options available to increase the net recovery that you are entitled to in order to avoid having you incur unnecessary reimbursements, court costs and even legal fees.
Cases that settle prior to trial involve a lower attorney fee.
If you have any questions regarding the options available to handle your case, in order to pursue the maximum recovery you are entitled to, please contact the offices of Gary Sernaker.