North County San Diego Injury Lawyers
As summer approaches in San Clemente and throughout Southern California, more families will be spending time at the beach and in neighborhood pools. While swimming can be a great summertime activity for children and adults alike, it is critical to remember that swimming also comes with serious risks of drowning injuries and deaths. Indeed, according to a report from CNN Health, drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, and nearly 400 kids under the age of 15, on average, die every year in drowning incidents in pools and spas. Adults, too, can sustain fatal drowning injuries if they are caught in rip tides or if they consume alcohol before boating or swimming.
With summer just a couple of months away, now is the time to refresh your knowledge of drowning risks to help prevent a drowning death this summer.
What Do You Need to Know About Drowning Risks?
More than half of all drowning incidents among children result from a lack of parental supervision. Beyond child deaths, nonfatal drowning incidents can also occur. According to the report, about 6,700 kids seek treatment in emergency departments every year for nonfatal drowning-related injuries, which averages out to approximately 18 kids per day. While drowning is a particularly serious problem for younger children, older teens can also get hurt and can die in drowning accidents. If you expand the age group to kids under the age of 20, drowning remains the third leading cause of death. In 2017, almost 1,000 kids under the age of 20 died as a result of drowning accidents.
When it comes to very young children, parents also need to be aware that drowning risks extend well beyond swimming pools and beaches. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that nearly 70% of drowning incidents among infants and toddlers occur when kids were not supposed to be near water, or when kids were simply in the bathroom or in the bathtub. Even a very small amount of water—a surprisingly little amount of water—can cause a drowning death in a young child.
Safety Tips for Preventing a Drowning Accident This Summer
What can you do to help prevent a drowning accident? The Mayo Clinic provides a number of water safety tips for parents, guardians, and caregivers:
- Make sure you know cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before you take kids to a pool or to the beach;
- Always supervise children who are near the water;
- Ensure that your children learn how to swim as soon as they are old enough to do so; and avoid consuming alcohol whenever you are supervising children near a pool or swimming yourself.
The Mayo Clinic also emphasizes the importance of fencing your own pool and installing alarms to prevent an accidental drowning when nobody is near the swimming pool.
Contact an Experienced San Clemente Drowning Accident Lawyer
If you need help filing a claim after a drowning accident, one of our San Clemente personal injury attorneys is here to help. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for assistance with your case.
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