One of the most horrific categories of drowning accidents involves drains. A person in a pool ends up with a limb stuck in a drain or trapped by drain suction. In a situation of this nature, a swimmer can be prevented of returning to the surface for air. There are five key strategies that can be employed as a means of protecting against pool drain drowning accidents.
- Inspect pool drains regularly
- Never permit children near a pool unsupervised
- Instruct all swimmers to stay clear of pool drains
- Ensure accessibility of shutdown switch
- Comprehensively secure pool when not in use
Inspect Pool Drains Regularly
A primary tactic to enhance pool safety and guard against pool drain drownings is to perform regular inspections. You need to make certain that pool drain covers are fully secure. You also need to make certain that they are not damaged in any manner.
A growing chorus among pool safety experts is that drain inspection should occur directly before people are slated to enter the water. Inspecting pool drains before every use may seem like overkill. However, identifying dangers before they happen is a key to preventing actual deaths in a pool as a result of a drain issue.
Never Permit Children Near a Pool Unsupervised
While there are a number of reasons why children must never be permitted around or in a pool unsupervised, drain-related hazards are high on the list. The grim reality is that time and again, a primary reason why children are injured or die in swimming or aquatic accidents is as a result of insufficient, improper, or altogether absent supervision of them.
Supervision of children at or in a pool means more than an adult lounging about. On the contrary, the person or persons designated to monitor children at or in a pool must be sharply focused on their task. The reality is that if a child encounters a drain danger, serious injury and even death can happen in an extremely short period of time. An adult supervisor must be in a position to respond immediately.
Instruct All Swimmers to Stay Clear of Pool Drains
Many pool owners and managers assume swimmers and others enjoying the water have an understanding to steer clear of drains. The reality is that many do not. Pool owners and others with responsibility for them need to remind swimmers and others to say clear of drains.
Even if a drain met muster on a prior inspection, something could have gone awry in the interim. In the proverbial grand scheme of things, the best way to prevent a swimming pool drowning accident involving a drain is to avoid contact with the drain in the first instance.
Ensure Accessibility of Shutdown Switch
Pool drain drownings happen in one of two primary ways. First, they occur when a person gets a hand or food caught in a drain. This happens when a drain cover is not properly secure or is not there at all.
Second, pool drowning accidents associated with drains also occur because of the suction caused by them. A sure way of rescuing a person from this type of situation is by shutting down the pool water circulation system. If a shutdown switch is immediately accessible, odds are enhanced that a person suddenly in peril because of drain suction can be rescued.
Comprehensively Secure Pool When Not in Use
Finally, when a pool is not in use, it must be comprehensively secured. This needs to occur to protect against any type of accident, including those associated with a pool drain. Children particularly are at risk when a pool is not properly, comprehensively secure when not in use.
The proper securing of a pool includes a perimeter fence that ideally is between six to eight feet tall and is unscalable. The gate to a pool should lock. In addition, the pool gate and deck area should be monitored with an alarm system in the event a person - particularly a child - breaches the perimeter when the pool should not be in use.
If you've lost a family member in a swimming pool drowning accident involving a drain or some other pool-related defect, you best protect your legal interests by retaining the services of an experienced, tenacious aquatic accident lawyer from The Doan Law Firm at (800) 349-0000. The same holds true if you've been injured in an aquatic accident involving a pool drain or some other hazard. There is no charge for an initial consultation with a Doan Law Firm aquatic accident lawyer from our firm. Indeed, we never charge a fee unless we win for you.
