Owning a Swimming Pool and Personal Liability
For many Americans, there is nothing better than getting the family ready for a delightful bar-b-que by the family's personal swimming pool.
And pools have a great deal of other highlights besides being great ways to cool off on a hot, sticky summer's day.
They also come with a certain amount of status.
For many people, a house coming with a pool is a make or brake part of whether or not they buy that particular house.
Even the lavishness of the particular pool can be a sticking point.
A pool can also significantly increase the property value of a home that is already owned.
But despite all these great advantages to owning the house, many people are still not ready to confront that fact that there is a deadly and devastating disadvantage to owning a pool-that being the risk of having someone drown or hurt themselves on or by the pool.
There are many ways in which injury can occur in or around a pool.
Some of the possible injuries that are common include: - Slips and falls-when people are playing around a pool there is a lot of rough housing and running.
This is incredibly dangerous, however, around all the concrete and water that is near the pool.
A simple slip on some splashed water can result in severe head trauma for the victim.
- Diving-most personal pools are not equipped for diving.
They are not nearly deep enough for this ever to be a safe activity.
If someone does dive into a pool that is not deep enough, he or she is risking breaking the neck or skull.
- Drowning-there is always a potential for drowning when around a pool.
Most drowning that occur are in children.
Children cannot conceive of the danger of water, they usually cannot swim properly and they are very fascinated by the body of water.
When something terrible happens, the homeowner can be held responsible for the injury or death.
Negligence can be proved in many situations involving drowning and other incidents.
Owners are responsible for making sure everything is safe for children even if they personally do not own children.
If a neighbor's child is brought over and drowns, the homeowners can be sued for wrongful death.
And pools have a great deal of other highlights besides being great ways to cool off on a hot, sticky summer's day.
They also come with a certain amount of status.
For many people, a house coming with a pool is a make or brake part of whether or not they buy that particular house.
Even the lavishness of the particular pool can be a sticking point.
A pool can also significantly increase the property value of a home that is already owned.
But despite all these great advantages to owning the house, many people are still not ready to confront that fact that there is a deadly and devastating disadvantage to owning a pool-that being the risk of having someone drown or hurt themselves on or by the pool.
There are many ways in which injury can occur in or around a pool.
Some of the possible injuries that are common include: - Slips and falls-when people are playing around a pool there is a lot of rough housing and running.
This is incredibly dangerous, however, around all the concrete and water that is near the pool.
A simple slip on some splashed water can result in severe head trauma for the victim.
- Diving-most personal pools are not equipped for diving.
They are not nearly deep enough for this ever to be a safe activity.
If someone does dive into a pool that is not deep enough, he or she is risking breaking the neck or skull.
- Drowning-there is always a potential for drowning when around a pool.
Most drowning that occur are in children.
Children cannot conceive of the danger of water, they usually cannot swim properly and they are very fascinated by the body of water.
When something terrible happens, the homeowner can be held responsible for the injury or death.
Negligence can be proved in many situations involving drowning and other incidents.
Owners are responsible for making sure everything is safe for children even if they personally do not own children.
If a neighbor's child is brought over and drowns, the homeowners can be sued for wrongful death.
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