The Legal Herald
Apartment and Hotel Pool Owner Responsibility
A recent rise in hotel and apartment complex swimming pool drownings has illuminated the critical need for property owners to follow state and federal pool safety regulations.
The CDC warns, “Aquatics professionals have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy swimming environment for their patrons. Maintaining good water quality requires pool operators and staff to have specific skills.”
Water Quality
This critical responsibility of monitoring water quality is carried over to apartment and hotel owners who provide swimming opportunities to their residents and guests. Cloudy water can prohibit the safe monitoring of swimmers in the pool and the fast rescue of swimmers in distress. Dangerous chemical levels can cause serious injury to lungs, eyes and skin. High bacterial levels can spread rash and illness. As such, it is imperative that apartment and hotel owners employ aquatics professionals to monitor water quality and ensure water visibility is clear and chemical and bacterial levels are safe.
Safe Pool Area Design
The CDC also provides guidelines for safe swimming pool design, including proper fencing, non-skid pool area surfaces, visible cautionary signage, safe structural elements (such as fountains and ladders), and safe drainage.
Enforcing Rules
Pool safety rules, including maximum occupancy, hours of operation, life guard availability, and prohibited items or behavior, should be visibly posted and enforced. Overcrowding can lead to drownings and poor swimmer visibility. As such, pool area occupancy rates must meet fire codes and be enforced by staff. Pool access should be properly secured after hours. Hazardous items and behavior, such as glass or diving in shallow waters, should be prohibited and offenders should be removed.
Victims of Swimming Pool Negligence
Unfortunately, a CDC report reveals, “Almost 1 in 8 (12.1% or 13,532 of 111,487) routine pool inspections conducted during 2008 identified serious violations that threatened public health and safety and resulted in an immediate closure.”
Apartment and hotel owners have a duty to protect residents and guests legally on property from any foreseeable harm. Should these property owners fail to provide adequate swimming pool safety measures, victims may elect to pursue a legal claim for any injuries or wrongful deaths, which occur as a consequence. Under such a claim, victims and their families may be entitled to substantial compensation. Given the complexities of pursuing such a potential case, it is imperative that the victims retain an experienced attorney who can ensure the preservation of any and all evidence that may support such a claim. Based upon its prior experience in handling apartment and hotel negligence claims, The Murray Law Firm suggests that photographs and a through, unbiased inspection of the property will need to be performed immediately, before any evidence may be repaired, damaged or destroyed.
We Fight for Victims of Apartment and Hotel Negligence…Contact us Now for a Free Consultation.
The Murray Law Firm has recovered millions of dollars for victims of apartment and hotel negligence. We offer our legal assistance, if desired. We represent our Clients on a contingency agreement, which generally means that no fees or payments are owed until and unless we recover. Anyone seeking further information or legal representation is encouraged to contact us via e-mail (click here) or by telephone at 888.842.1616. Consultations are free and confidential.
