One of the most shocking and horrifying things that can happen to a family is the sudden or accidental loss of a young child. As personal injury lawyers who have handled thousands of wrongful death cases over 100 years’ combined experience of our six attorneys, we have seen it all too often.
The most common cause of death among children under the age of 5 years old is accidental drowning.
Only a few accidental drownings occur in Palm Beach County each year, thanks to the efforts of important non-profit groups such as the Drowning Coalition of Palm Beach County.
But, not all drownings can be prevented, and that’s because it’s not always the fault of the parent.
The death of a 4-year old in Greenacres/Lake Worth by drowning in September highlights that important point.
Drowning of a 4-year old at the Lucerne Lakes Community pool
An unidentified boy suffered a near drowning at the Lucerne Lakes Community pool in Lake Worth in late September, and sadly, died from his injuries about a week later.
According to news reports, the mother, who had been with her son the entire time they were in the pool, had turned her head away for just a minute or two when the boy slipped into the pool unnoticed and unattended.
An argument could be made that this was incident was not the fault of an inattentive mom, but rather at least part of the fault could lie with the property owners.
Why improperly secured pools lead to drownings, which leads to a wrongful death lawsuit
According to Florida laws, it is the responsibility of the owner of any pool to maintain a sufficient barrier around their property, and around the pool, to restrict access to those who are vulnerable to drowning. While that commonly includes children, it may also include the disabled people, or the elders.
If access is not restricted or properly maintained, and a drowning occurs in any pool, the owner of the property or their insurance company may be held liable for a wrongful death lawsuit by the surviving family of the victim.
We encourage the public to speak with a personal injury law firm if you’ve lost a child to an accidental drowning under any circumstance.
Our law firm has been an advocate for pool safety, having partnered with the Drowning Coalition for Public Service Announcement commercials on local TV. We’ve handled many cases involving the drowning of children on someone else’s property. While we cannot bring those precious child back, our law firm can be valuable in the long and slow process towards recovery from such an awful tragedy.