One of the great features of any hotel when you are on vacation with your family is an outdoor pool. Even for visitors to Rancho Bernardo who are planning to spend much of their time at the beach, if you are staying at a hotel with a pool, there is a good chance that you and your children will enjoy some time by the poolside. However, pools can be extremely dangerous, and children especially can sustain serious hotel injuries at a pool. While drowning due to swimming inexperience or slipping and falling typically is the primary concern when it comes to hotel pool injuries, there are other ways that guests can get hurt while enjoying the water. Specifically, pool drain accidents and pool filter accidents happen more often than you might think.

Hotel Pools and Circulation Entrapments in Drains

Pools and hot tubs at hotels have drain systems and filter systems that are designed to clean the water and to create circulation. While these systems help to ensure that hotel guests are swimming in clean water, they can also lead to serious personal injuries if proper safety precautions are not taken or if these devices do not undergo regular maintenance. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) refers to many of these injuries that lead to drowning deaths as “circulation entrapments.” In such situations, an injured guest may be able to file a hotel negligence claim.

As an article in the New York Daily News clarifies, “the suction created by the drains [in pools and hot tubs] can trap children under the surface or catch limbs, in some cases causing serious injury or death.” Indeed, according to a spokesperson for the Pool Safety Council, “the force of a drain on a residential pool has a weight of at least 500 pounds.” Every year, 390 children under the age of 15, on average, suffer fatal injuries in “pool or spa-related submersion injuries,” with many of these accidents involving pool drains and filters. More than 50% of these injuries occur at public pools or hotel pools.

Between the years 2008 and 2012, pool drain injuries were responsible for a total of 39 emergency department visits, and most of the victims were children. They suffered from a variety of injuries, including drowning symptoms, fractured bones, and intestinal prolapse. At least two children during that period died from their injuries. A 7-year-old girl recently suffered a near-fatal drowning after her hair got caught in a swimming pool filter, according to an article in News.com.

Pool Drain Accidents can be Prevented When Hotels Take Proper Safety Measures

Pools drains need to be inspected regularly, or else they can come loose. As the article emphasizes, many newer pools have domed drain covers that are designed to prevent these types of injuries, but even this type of drain cover can lead to a circulation entrapment if it is not checked often by hotel maintenance. In some cases, the screws come loose, and in others they become rusty and the drain cover comes off.

If a child does get stuck in a pool drain, it is important to avoid trying to life the child directly off the train. To be sure, “the force of the suction makes that impossible.” What should parents or staff do? An adult should attempt to wedge their fingers between the drain and the child’s body, and then roll the child off the drain sideways.

Contact a Hotel Negligence Attorney in Rancho Bernardo

Hotels and motels have a duty to maintain pools properly, including drains and filters. If your child suffered an injury at a hotel or motel in Southern California, you should speak with a Rancho Bernardo hotel negligence lawyer about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we assist injury victims.

See Related Blog Posts: California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents Liability When Resort or Hotel Guests Get Hurt

(image courtesy of Ryan Wilson)

Can children and adults really suffer fatal injuries as a result of “dry drowning” or “secondary drowning” in San Marcos this summer? Parents often hear about—and worry about—the risks of dry drowning, yet according to a recent article in TribLive, physicians say that there are many misconceptions about dry drowning and secondary drowning that need to be cleared up. These terms suggest that they refer to medical conditions, when in fact they often are used in many different scenarios in which people are suffering from a variety of medical conditions. As such, parents do not need to worry about dry drowning, but they do need to be aware of other medical conditions that can arise when a child is involved in a drowning accident.

Dry Drowning is Not Real, But Other Medical Conditions are

According to Dr. Peter Wernicki, who is a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, the terms ‘dry drowning’ and ‘secondary drowning’ are ones that have “totally been over-hyped by social media and people who are not knowledgeable on the subject.” He went on to emphasize that there is a common misconception that kids get rescued from the water or accidentally swallow or inhale water in the ocean or in a pool, and then suddenly—without warning—the child stops breathing hours or days later. As Wernicki underscores, “that just doesn’t happen.” Indeed, he clarified, “a child doesn’t act fine for eight hours and then die from drowning.”

Yet this does not mean that a near-drowning incident can not result in other serious medical conditions that can in fact lead to death if left untreated. For instance, kids (as well as adults) who are involved in near-drowning incidents can contract aspiration pneumonia. This is an “infection that develops from water trapped in the lungs.” Yet, as Wernicki highlights, this is not a situation that could be described as drowning, and it is also very rare. Other serious infections and conditions can also happen after a near-drowning accident, but they have warning signs, and they simply should not be classified as dry drowning or secondary drowning given that each is distinct.

Signs of Aspiration Pneumonia and Other Conditions Resulting from a Near-Drowning Incident

Recognizing that the terms ‘dry drowning’ and ‘secondary drowning’ have become misleading, the American Red Cross has recommended that healthcare providers stop using them. Parents often bring their children to the doctor after the child has ingested water while swimming, worrying that the child could die as a result of dry drowning. Yet doctors underscore that this is not time well spent. Kids who do have aspiration pneumonia and other conditions show signs like “coughing and labored breathing many hours after leaving the water,” which means that parents would know if there was a problem.

Instead of spending time seeking treatment for kids with no symptoms, pediatricians recommend that parents spend time on drowning prevention methods, including swimming lessons and CPR training.

Just because dry drowning is not a real condition does not mean that parents should not be vigilant about signs of harm after a near-drowning accident. The following are symptoms that may require medical attention:

• Increasingly rapid breathing;
• Labored breathing;
• Lethargy; and
• Any general signs that the child is not well.

Contact a San Marcos Drowning Accident Lawyer

If your child suffered serious harm in a drowning accident, you should speak with a San Marcos drowning accident lawyer about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Oceanside Residents and the Pool Safety Act California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents

(image courtesy of Ryan Wilson)

If you live in Carlsbad and spend a significant amount of time at the beach with your family, it is important to carefully consider the risks of drowning accidents in open water. While drowning dangers certainly exist at home swimming pools, a new study addresses the growing risk of drowning in open water. An article in Today discusses the recent study conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide, which suggests that “families need to pay more attention to swimming safety—especially in open water.” According to the study, drowning rates in open water have increased, and parents need to take preventive measures to ensure their children’s safety.

Swimming Pool Drowning Accidents Decrease While Open Water Drowning Incidents Increase

The Safe Kids Worldwide study focuses on the fact that most drowning prevention education and outreach tends to highlight the dangers of swimming pools. Parents learn about the need to keep pools fenced so that children can not accidentally enter the pool without adult supervision, and the importance of always keeping an eye on any child who is swimming. This kind of outreach work, according to the study, has helped to reduce the rate of swimming pool drowning accidents across the country. At the same time, however, the rate of open water drowning accidents has risen.

According to Morag Mackay, the Safe Kids Worldwide director of research, “we used to hear a lot about kids drowning in pools and there has been a fair amount of work done in that area, and we have seen those drowning decrease.” Yet as Mackay emphasizes, “drownings in open water have increased.”

Approximately 43% of drowning accidents happen in open water, while only about 38% of drowning accidents occur in swimming pools. In 2016 alone, 1,000 kids died in drowning accidents, while near-drowning incidents resulted in more than 7,000 kids visiting emergency departments for medical treatment. Around 80% of kids who drown in open water are males between the ages of 15 and 19.

Getting the Facts About Kids and Drowning Risks

Whether you are staying in San Diego County this summer or taking a family vacation elsewhere, you should make sure to learn about all of the risks surrounding open water. When safety experts talk about drowning risks in open water, they are referring to all of the following locations where kids and families tend to swim:

• Oceans;
• Rivers;
• Ponds;
• Lakes;
• Reservoirs;
• Retention ponds; and
• Quarries.

Why is swimming in open water so dangerous? As the study explains, learning to swim in open water is a lot different than learning to swim in a pool. Open water swimming areas often have dangers that pools do not have, including but not limited to the following:

• Rocks and vegetation that can be slippery or cause wounds;
• Distances that are difficult to judge;
• Limited visibility;
• Shifting currents that can be dangerous;
• Limited to no visibility;
• Stark differences in temperature; and
• Often steep drop-offs.

If you take your family swimming in an open water area, poor swimmers should always keep life jackets on at all times, and you should only swim in designated areas where life guards are on duty.

Contact a Carlsbad Drowning Accident Lawyer

If your child or someone you love recently suffered injuries in a drowning accident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. A dedicated Carlsbad drowning accident attorney can help with your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about how we can assist you.

See Related Blog Posts: Oceanside Residents and the Pool Safety Act California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents

(image courtesy of Matt Hardy)

Nobody in Oceanside likes to think about the possibility of a serious drowning accident in which a child suffers serious or fatal injuries. However, drowning accidents happen with some frequency—especially in Southern California—and it is important for parents to be aware of the risks. Indeed, according to a recent article in the Patch, officials have identified an “alarming spike in juvenile drownings this year” in Southern California, which led to a “public health warning urging families to exercise caution with youth and water.” We are only three months into 2018, and so far four children have died as a result of drowning accidents in the state. To put that number in perspective, four children died in total from drowning incidents in 2017.

Dangers of Backyard Pools in Oceanside

Whether you have a young child or a teenager, it is important to learn more about the risks of drowning, especially if you have a backyard pool. Many preventable drowning incidents happen at home. As the article explains, a child in Riverside County recently died from drowning after riding a toy car into his own backyard pool. The parents thought the toddler was inside the house, only to find him in the family pool after it was too late to resuscitate him. Similarly, a 9-year-old child at a nearby home died after falling into a family pool to retrieve a tennis ball. Nobody at the house found her until 15 minutes after she had drowned.

In response to the high rate of drowning incidents this year, the Riverside University Health System issued a news release designed to warn parents in California about the serious risks of drowning and the importance of being vigilant: “Cases such as these demonstrate how important it is to monitor children anytime they are near any body of water, whether it is a backyard pool, an outdoor sauna, or an indoor bathtub.”

Notably, none of the child drowning deaths reported this year in Southern California have occurred while the child was swimming. Rather, the incidents occurred accidentally while each child was out of the eyesight of parents or other family members.

Getting the Facts About Child Drowning Incidents

How common are child drowning incidents? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 3,500 drowning deaths, on average, each year in the country. Approximately 20 percent of those drowning fatalities are children who are under the age of 15. As the CDC points out, “for every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.”

Even when drownings are not fatal, about 50% of them require that the patient be hospitalized for additional care. A drowning incident, even if it does not result in the death of the child, can cause significant brain damage, which can affect the child’s memory, learning ability, and even basic functioning.

To prevent drowning accidents, the CDC recommends that anyone with a pool at home install four-sided fencing that is at least four feet high, and to use self-closing and self-latching gates to keep children out unless an adult is present. There are also other types of barriers that can prevent kids from getting into a swimming pool when a parent is not present. To remove a child’s desire to enter the pool without an adult, it is important to keep pool toys stored away from the pool itself.

Contact an Oceanside Drowning Accident Lawyer

Spring is here, and more families are using their pools. If you have questions about pool safety or need help with a drowning accident case, an experienced Oceanside drowning accident lawyer can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today.

See Related Blog Posts: Oceanside Residents and the Pool Safety Act California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents

(image courtesy of joey banks)

Drowning accidents happen more often than they should in Oceanside and other parts of San Diego County. While many drowning accidents happen at the beach when swimmers are just off the shore, drowning accidents can also occur with some frequency in home swimming pools. In particular, pools can pose serious risks to child safety when they do not have proper guards or barriers. Recognizing the dangers of swimming pool accidents to young children, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law the Pool Safety Act (SB 442), according to a recent report from PR Newswire. That law took effect on January 1, 2018, and it “requires new or remodeled pools and spas to have two of seven child protective safety barriers.”

Will the new law help to prevent avoidable drowning accidents in Southern California?

Drowning is a Leading Cause of Death Among California Children

According to the report, numerous agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) cite drowning as the second-leading cause of death for kids in California who are between the ages of one and four. Between 2010 and 2014, “more than 160 children one to four years of age, inclusive, suffered fatal drowning, with the majority of the incidents involving residential pools.”

In addition to drowning deaths, many children in the state have also sustained severe and debilitating injuries. During the period between 2010 and 2015, more than 740 kids in that same age group were hospitalized with injuries caused by a near-drowning incident in a residential pool. Near-drowning accidents can be devastating, often leading to serious and permanent brain injury due to asphyxiation.

How the Pool Safety Act can Help

As we mentioned above, the Pool Safety Act requires that new or renovated homes with residential swimming pools have at least two of the seven child protection features listed in the statute. These features help to keep kids from accidentally falling into a pool, which is how most drowning deaths occur in young children. The law specifically states that all private single-family residential pools must have at least two of the following drowning prevention safety features:

• Enclosure that isolates the pool from the private single-family home;
• Removable mesh fencing with a self-closing and self-latching gate;
• Approved safety pool cover;
• Exit alarms on doors to the home that provide direct access to the pool and issue a noise or verbal warning;
• Self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism on the home’s doors that lead to the pool;
• Alarm that alerts when someone enters the swimming pool or spa; and
• Another means of protection that is of equal or greater protection to those listed in the law.

Contact an Oceanside Drowning Accident Lawyer

If you or your child suffered injuries in a drowning incident, an Oceanside drowning accident lawyer may be able to help. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents Could Carlsbad Lifeguards Reduce Drowning Risks?

(image courtesy of Ryan Wilson)

Whether you are swimming in a pool at your San Diego home or are visiting a neighbor’s house, do you need to be worried about your child’s safety as well as your own? According to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, swimming pools can become death traps more frequently than most of us would like to believe, especially for young children. As that article explains, around 18 millions homes in the U.S. currently have swimming pools, but drowning is actually the leading cause of accidental death among children 1 to 4 years old. As the article emphasizes, a majority of those unintentional deaths occur in home swimming pools.

While kids under the age of four are at a higher risk of drowning than children in other age groups, it is important to remember that drowning can result in the death of anyone, at any age. For kids under the age of 15, drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental death. As such, it is important to take precautions to prevent your pool from becoming a death trap, as the article warns.

Supervision and Swimming Lessons for Your Kids

The first and most important aspect of pool safety is making sure that your children are supervised at all times when they are in the pool. You should not take your eyes off the pool—even for a minute or two—to read a magazine or to check your email on your smartphone. It takes a short time for a child to drown, and parents need to be aware that supervision is key to preventing drowning accidents in home pools.

Almost as important as adult supervision, you should ensure that your kids know how to swim. Sign your children up for swimming lessons early on and be sure that they know what to do when a water situation becomes dangerous. While your kids are taking swimming lessons, you should consider learning CPR. In the event that a child does have a near-drowning incident in or around your pool, you can have the tools to save a life.

Safeguard the Pool Area

Supervision and swimming skills are key to preventing drowning deaths. At the same time, however, it is essential for parents with home pools to take steps to keep the pool area safe for kids. The article recommends the following tips:

• Completely fence in your pool, ideally using fence of at least six feet in height and three feet away from the pool so that it can be safely scaled without falling in. Not just any fencing will do, either. You should use fencing that does not have any “horizontal footholds of grips that allow kids to climb it.” Additionally, the fence should not have vertical slats that are more than four inches apart, or else a child may be able to slip through those slats.
• Install a gate to your pool area that has “self-closing spring hinges and a self-locking latch that is well out of reach” of children, typically at least five feet from the ground.
• Remove any furniture or other items that kids could use to scale your pool fence, including but not limited to: low-hanging tree branches, chairs, tables, and ladders.

If your child got hurt in a pool accident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. An experienced San Diego drowning accident attorney can discuss your options with you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Learning More About Dry Drowning and Secondary Drowning Link Between Drowning Accidents and California Drought

(image courtesy of Matias Romero)