Houston Swimming Accidents, Diving Injuries and Drowning Cases

When summer comes around each year, everyone in Houston gets ready to go swimming—whether it’s in the backyard pool, the public pool in the neighborhood, or at the beach, but the increased activity comes with risk. In fact, each summer there is an uptick of Houston swimming accidents, diving injuries, and drowning cases, and the attorneys at Carabin Shaw want you to be aware of how serious the issue is. If you or a loved one has been injured and you’re considering filing a swimming pool accident claim, please contact an accident attorney in Houston right away, or read on to learn more.

Every summer, the Houston Chroniclereports on accidental drownings and other accidents in Houston swimming pools. And according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are 300 drowning deaths of children younger than five each year in swimming pools, and the scariest part about it is that most of them were missing for less than five minutes when they were found. This means that every second counts. In addition, many people think that if someone is drowning, there will be a lot of splashing or screaming, and they’ll hear it come rescue the child. This isn’t the case: most of the time, a child can just slip under the water silently; so make sure to keep watch of your children at all times, and make sure they get proper swimming lessons before getting in the water.

If someone you know has suffered an accidental drowning, contact a personal injury attorney in Houston immediately.

Drowning is not the only risk when swimming. ABC News reported that, based on a sixteen-year study, 6,500 kids end up in the emergency room each year for traumatic diving-related injuries—an average of one injury per hour—and the children most likely to get hurt were between the ages of 10 and 14.

And it’s not just the high board—in fact, 80% or more of the injuries were from a dive height of less than a yard. In addition, most of the accidents occur in water that is only 3-4 feet deep, or less.

And while most of the injuries aren’t too serious (many are cuts and bruises), there are still a good number that require hospitalization—and a discussion with an attorney. Sometimes there are injuries that don’t lead to death, but severely incapacitate the victim: diving accidents can cause serious brain injuries, damage to the neck and spine, broken bones, and other disabilities.

But all incidents are different, so an accident attorney in Houston should review the details of your specific injury to help you decide if you should file a swimming pool accident claim.

Houston swimming accidents, diving injuries, and drowning cases are typically very serious, and require a lot of attention, patience, and compassion. There are many considerations lawyers make when working with such claims, like, who owns the pool, was the victim invited to enter the grounds or were they trespassing? Note that even if the victim was trespassing, the property owner—be it an apartment complex, a homeowner, or, in the case of a public pool, a municipality—still usually has a legal obligation to make sure the grounds are safe. Your attorney will also need to ascertain if there was any liability on the part of the victim for example, by consuming alcohol, not following the rules, or horsing around.

Each case is different, and if you or a loved one has been injured, Carabin Shaw has a personal injury attorney in Houston ready to help. Our lawyers have recovered over $500 million for our clients, and have 200 years of combined legal experience. Call us today at 713-654-9991 for a no cost, no obligation consultation with an accident attorney in Houston today. You have nothing to lose.