Portable Pools: A Florida Drowning Accident Attorney Discusses Safety

It is 95 degrees in West Palm Beach and a dip in the pool seems a nice way to cool down. If you don't have a built-in pool, you might be considering a portable pool.  Portable pools are a relatively inexpensive way to keep your cool, but a new study warns that portable pools may be even more dangerous than in-ground pools.
 
A report, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at swimming pool accident data for the years 2001 and 2009 involving children under 12 years old in portable pools. The researchers found that 209 children drowned in portable pools during that time; 35 children survived near-drowning accidents.
 
Eighty percent of these accidents occurred in the summer; in fact, during the summer months, a child dies every five days from drowning in a portable pool. Ninety-four percent of the accidents involved a child younger than five years old; three-quarters of the accidents occurred in the child's own back yard.  
 
Why are portable pools so dangerous? Florida in-ground pools must include safety features such as fences, drain covers and alarms.  If you choose to use a portable pool this summer, make sure your children are well-supervised at all times and that the pool is emptied and put away when not in use.  Rain can accumulate in a portable pool creating a Florida drowning hazard.
 
Florida drowning accident attorney Craig Goldenfarb has an even safer suggestion for young children: try a sprinkler.