How Do Texas Premises Liability Laws Affect Public and Private Pool Accidents?

Searing summers are typical in Texas, and many Dallas residents look to swimming pools for relief from the heat. Thankfully, they are not short on options. In addition to the 11 community pools and six aquatic centers operated by Dallas Parks, numerous households and apartment complexes have pools, too. While these pools are a fantastic resource, they come with risks.

If you or someone you care about sustained an injury at a pool, you might be able to secure compensation. Call a Carabin Shaw accident attorney in Dallas to determine your next steps.

A Carabin Shaw Dallas injury attorney knows that pool-related mishaps can cause:

• Broken bones
• Chemical burns from chlorine or solvents
• Infections
• Scrapes and bruises
• Slip and fall injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries

Additionally, pool accidents can cause drowning, which recent data suggests disproportionately affects a critical Texas population: children. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Texas had the highest rate of child pool and spa drownings in 2019. To combat the above risks, public health agencies are promoting pool safety measures and local governments are reexamining their policies.

Still, accidents happen, and the path toward justice can seem unclear. After something goes wrong, what legal steps should you take? How do Texas premises liability laws affect public and private pool accidents? What outcomes can you expect if you pursue a case? If you or someone you love sustained an injury or died at a pool, a Dallas swimming pool accident lawyer should be your next call.

“Premises liability” refers to a set of general requirements that Texas landowners must follow to ensure their property is safe for visitors. A plaintiff’s attorney must prove that:

1. The defendant had a legal duty of care to the plaintiff
2. The defendant breached that duty
3. This breach resulted in damages

The duty in these cases is mainly dependent on the visitor’s classification. There are three types of visitors:

• Invitees: An accident attorney in Dallas knows that property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees, who step onto the property for a mutually beneficial reason. A business invitee is a customer who enters a business to shop. A public invitee is a person who enters a public property, like a park, library, or community pool. Landowners must reasonably protect them from dangerous conditions by regularly inspecting their property, addressing safety concerns, and warning invitees about risks they might encounter.
• Licensees: When property owners invite visitors for the visitor’s benefit, that guest is a licensee. For example, salespeople and partygoers are licensees. Though the duty of care is not as high as for invitees, lawyers say that property owners should still warn licensees about known dangerous conditions (e.g., uneven paving, sharp objects, etc.).
• Trespassers: Trespassers do not have permission to enter the property, and so the owner owes them the lowest duty of care. A Dallas injury attorney advises that the only duty property owners have to trespassers is not to willfully or wantonly cause them harm.

A key exception to the guidelines surrounding trespassers is the law of attractive nuisance, which attorneys often refer to in swimming pool cases. According to this law, landowners may be liable for a trespasser’s injuries if that trespasser is a child who could not understand the risks posed by an object or condition, such as a pool or piece of machinery. If the victim of a pool accident is a minor who was trespassing, the property owner might owe damages to the family if there were not adequate safety measures around the pool.

So, how do Texas premises liability laws affect public and private pool accidents? The answer varies by case, and your best resource is a Dallas swimming pool accident lawyer.

To get in touch with an accident attorney in Dallas, call Carabin Shaw at 1-800-862-1260.