Having a pool to cool off in during the hot summer months is fun, but it can also expose you and your family to the risk of injury, or a lawsuit if someone else is injured.
In this article, we’ll explore how to keep your pool safe, and some steps to take to ensure that your family, your guests, and even any unintended visitors stay safe around your pool.
Reach out to Langdon & Emison or call (866) 931-2115 any time for a no-obligation consultation about your potential personal injury case, and read on to learn more about how to keep your above-ground pool safe.
1. Learn CPR, and think about getting your child(ren) lessons.
While you hope that it never happens, the nature of accidents is that they cannot be planned for.
To help protect against the potential of significant harm to people who might fall into your pool without knowing how to swim, you and your family should learn how to perform cardiopulmonary respiration, or CPR.
CPR is an emergency procedure that can help to save someone’s life if their breathing or heart stops, which are both things that can happen from accidental drowning.
2. Install gates or barriers.
Installing gates or barriers is an important step in reducing the risk of preventable injuries, including drowning.
Creating an adequate barrier to prevent such risks by putting up fences or pool gates can help to ensure that a wandering child does not accidentally end up being injured or worse in your pool.
Adding pool covers capable of supporting the weight of an adult can ensure that even a wandering elderly person will not be at risk of drowning.
3. Maintain pool equipment.
When equipment is regularly used, ensure that it is kept in proper working order.
Outside of ensuring that the equipment that operates the pool is maintained, it is also helpful to keep potential risks away from the pool. These risks can include exposed electrical wires that could pose a risk of electrocution to occupants of the pool, or even safety aids or toys laying around that could pose a hazard of tripping.
Making sure that drain covers are compliant and properly covered can help to prevent drowning accidents or entrapment that can lead to injury or drowning.
4. Be extremely careful with pool chemicals.
Pool chemicals can be corrosive to the skin and extremely damaging to the eyes. Ensure that the chemicals used in the pool are used correctly and in the proper amounts to prevent injury, or even the potential of illness.
There are more injuries and illnesses as a result of pool chemicals each year than you’d expect, and it is important to guard against these injuries.
How to Keep an Above-Ground Pool Safe
Pool owners have a responsibility to keep their property safe and secure because a pool is what is known, in legal terms, as an “attractive nuisance.” This simply means that pools are enticing to children, who are not expected to exercise logic and responsible thinking at their young age.
If you have a pool that is enticing to children passing by and it is not secured, they might innocently wander over and suffer an injury.
Install fencing around the pool.
Keeping an above-ground pool safe begins with controlling access, and this starts with installing fencing around the pool. The first concern of pool owners is to protect vulnerable parties from harming themselves, like children and the elderly, and fencing is a common line of defense.
Use only safety-type ladders with a locking gate.
Safety-type ladders support safe entry and exit into the pool. A locking gate can stop people from gaining access to the pool when you are not around to supervise.
Use self-closing, self-latching gates.
When a deck can provide level access into an above-ground pool, using a self-closing and self-latching gate can keep the area safe and free of the potential of wandering children falling into the pool.
Add a door alarm.
Knowing when your pool is being accessed can help to stop intrusions before injuries happen, and a door alarm on the pool deck can help.
This Summer, Have Fun and Stay Safe!
Making the most of the summer includes not only maximizing your recreational time but also staying safe so that you and your family can continue doing so years into the future.
If you have a pool or are visiting the pools of others, it is important to ensure that the premises and the equipment are safe, and the area is guarded against vulnerable visitors. Wandering children and elderly people may be attracted to a pool, but if they are harmed, the pool owner could be liable.
If you or a family member is injured at a pool, or someone else is injured at your pool, connecting with an attorney as soon as possible will support the best possible outcome in your case. Your attorney will handle all communications and negotiations with the other parties involved, and collect the evidence you need to make the most of your case.
To reach an experienced personal injury attorney at Langdon & Emison, schedule a consultation online or feel free to call 866-931-2115 anytime.
