Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
A 5 year old boy drowned at a Maryland counrtry club because safety rules were not followed. Recently, a jury awarded the parents of the child $4 million after they successfully sued DRD Pool Service Inc, which was the country club’s pool management company. The pool management company was found to have not adequately trained its lifeguards and to have not adequately staffed the pool area. This is a typical example of the obligation of property owners to provide proper safety precautions for individuals using its services.
In this case, a 16 year old was on lifeguard duty when the child’s body was found floating in the outdoor pool. The child had been playing in the pool with two other children and an adult friend. The lifeguard had only been working at this job for three weeks prior to the incident. In Maryland, only one lifeguard id required for ever 50 swimmers. The family is advocating more stringent rules requiring a lifeguard for every 25 swimmers. The family has set up a foundation in memory of their son and they are working with Maryland lawmakers to improve state safety rules for all pools.
This type of tragic case happens far too frequently every summer. Even when lifegaurds are present and all safety rules are followed, tragedy can occur. Unfortunately, pools are often staffed by young and experienced lifeguards, who are not adequately trained and do not always follow the necessary safety rules. These mistakes are rarely admitted to by the institutions owning the pools. Frequently, the true reason why such deaths occur are not uncovered unless there is litigation and in-depth discovery conducted by a qualified attorney, as this case demonstrates.