The Kickham Comment - Boston Accident Lawyer Blog
Oh those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Those days of soda, and pretzels, and beer.
But there’s one thing singer Nat King Cole forgot. Summer always bring with it swimming pools – and inevitably – and sometimes tragically – serious swimming pool accidents. That can involve everything from diving into the shallow end of the pool, causing brain injuries and death, to slipping on concrete surfaces, to fatal drowning accidents.
I’ve written several previous blog posts about how swimming pools bring with them inherent risks of serious personal injuries. The risks of swimming pool injuries are very high. This is an area of law known as “premises liability” or “product liability.” The pool might be an in-ground/built-in, or an above-ground portable. It often makes little difference. As a Dedham/Boston accident lawyer, I can assure you pools can be very dangerous – if not deadly.
No matter the pool you own, all property owners who have a swimming pool on their premises should undertake numerous safety and liability prevention measures to avoid accidents.
Just this week, two four-year-old children suffered two separate swimming pool accidents, and one of them was fatal. And it’s still springtime; summer hasn’t even officially arrived yet.
The first incident was a Chatham swimming pool accident that occurred at the tony Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod. This past Saturday, May 12, 2012, a young boy was rescued from the hotel pool by bystanders who performed CPR, right before the Chatham Fire Department arrived. The child was transported to Cape Cod Hospital, and as of right now, his condition is not available.
In a second incident this week, there was a Westborough swimming pool accident. On Sunday, May 13, 2012, a four-year-old boy, Alexie Lepoer, was found dead in the murky waters of the pool at the apartment complex in Westborough that served as his home. Surrounded by a chain-link fence, the pool had not yet opened for the summer season. It had been uncovered about a week ago, so that it could be treated and cleaned. About a half-hour before the boy’s body was found, his parents had notified police that their son was missing.
As a Dedham/Boston injury attorney, I urge everyone to take extra special precautions this spring and summer, so that the possibility of Massachusetts swimming pool accidents remains low. It’s easy to get caught up in the fun and games that go hand-in-hand with swimming pools, but the honest truth is that swimming pools are just plain dangerous.