After a Swimming Pool Drowning or Near-Drowning | North Dakota Attorney
For children, swimming pools can be a serious danger. If an unsupervised child who cannot swim enters a pool in North Dakota, their life may be at serious risk. Sadly, most drownings and near-drownings could have been prevented if proper safety measures were in place. If your loved one drowned or had a near-drowning experience, you should talk to a North Dakota pool accident attorney. Fighting for the compensation you deserve can be difficult to do on your own.
North Dakota attorney James Shaw has years of experience working with swimming pool accident victims, so he knows the proper steps and right moves to ensure you get the compensation you’re rightfully owed.
Premises Liability in Swimming Pool AccidentsSwimming pool accidents are a type of personal injury case where premises liability laws apply. Property owners can be held accountable when visitors are injured on their property. Both public and private property owners owe others on their premises a duty of care, but the extent of that duty of care and what safety measures they’re required to take depends on how their presence on your property would be legally classified.
North Dakota law makes a distinction between different types of entrants, and each entrant is owed a different level of duty of care by the property owner:
- Invitee - Invitees are those allowed on the premises for mutual benefit of both parties, like a contract worker, for example. An invitee deserves a high standard of duty of care. A property owner must warn the invitee of any dangers they know of on the property or should have known about after a reasonable inspection. To learn more, talk to a lawyer.
- Licensee - A licensee is someone who the property owner has invited onto their property, like a social guest. A property owner must warn a licensee of any dangerous conditions.
- Trespasser - Lastly, a trespasser—someone who has entered the property without consent or unlawfully—is owed the least duty of care. The only obligation a property owner has to a trespasser is to not intentionally cause harm or endanger a trespasser through gross negligence. If you have questions, talk to a pool injury lawyer serving North Dakota.
After a swimming pool drowning or near-drowning accident, there are four major factors to consider that will determine who is liable in the case and what kind of damages your lawyer can pursue:
- Age - The victims age will play an important role in determining who is liable in a swimming pool accident case. When a victim is young, the liability falls on the property owner. In the eyes of the law, children are not at an age where they can be legally responsible for any injuries they suffer in a pool or body of water, even if it’s shallow.
- Precautions - A property owner is required to take proper safety measures regarding any dangers in and around a pool. If the right safety precautions aren’t in place, the liability will be placed on the property owner. If a lack of precautions lead to your loved one’s accident, consult an attorney.
- Location - Where your accident took place will affect who is responsible. Let a North Dakota pool accident attorney review your case, so you can know how the location of the accident will play a part in your lawsuit.
- Injuries - When you file suit, one of your primary goals is to get compensation for any injuries that occurred in the accident. Be sure to work with an attorney that will know the worth of your case and fight to get you the compensation you are rightfully owed.
If you need a pool injury lawyer serving North Dakota, we are ready to serve you. North Dakota attorney James Shaw loves helping victims just like you get the justice you deserve. Call today at 1-800-555-0101 for a free consultation.