Tampa Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer

Quick Summary: Tampa Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer

• Tampa pool accidents may involve residential, hotel, or community pool negligence claims.
• Florida’s Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act requires safety features for certain new residential pools.
• Drain entrapment and equipment defects can form the basis of product liability claims.
• Non-fatal drowning victims may suffer lasting brain injuries requiring extensive compensation.

Tampa has and always will be a summer hotspot for families of all shapes and sizes looking to cool off. When a fun day by the water ends in tragedy, Tampa swimming pool accident lawyers help families recover damages.

At Darrigo & Diaz Personal Injury Attorneys, Board-Certified Civil Trial Law Specialist Nadine Diaz leads our efforts in representing injured families. If you’ve been hurt in or near a swimming pool, Attorney Diaz is ready to fight for your right to compensation.

What Is the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act?

The Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act is a Florida law that sets regulations for avoiding drownings. The law defines standards for security barriers and measures around residential swimming pools.

Pool Barrier and Gate Requirements Under Florida Law

Florida requires swimming pools (or hot tubs or spas) to have at least one of the following safety features installed on the premises:

• Pool Barrier/Fence: An approved pool barrier must be at least four feet tall on the outside, and must completely separate the pool from the home and yard. There must be no gaps large enough for a four-inch sphere to pass through the fence.
  • Gates must open outward and away from the swimming pool, and must be both self-closing and self-latching.
  • Pool cages count as appropriate pool barriers if all doors are self-closing and self-latching.
• Pool Cover: A pool cover, either manual or powered, must meet ASTM Standard F1346. This means the cover must be rigid and able to support a weight (solar blankets do not count).
• Exit Alarms: All doors and windows with access to the pool area must have alarms installed, with a minimum volume of 85 dB(A) at 10 feet.
• Self-closing, Self-latching Doors: As with any gates along the pool barrier, any doors directly leading to the pool must also be self-closing and self-latching, and must have latches at least 54 inches high.
• Subsurface Swimming Pool Alarms: A pool must have an alarm in the water that triggers when the surface is breached.

The law also requires pool builders and contractors to provide prospective buyers with a state-provided publication on pool safety and drowning prevention upon installation or construction of a pool.

If a pool is not equipped with at least one of the safety features mentioned above, they are charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. Penalties for the violation can be waived, however, provided the safety issues are addressed within 45 days.

Attractive Nuisance Claims Involving Tampa Swimming Pools

A second Florida law that deals with accidental drownings, especially involving children, is the Attractive Nuisance doctrine. This law makes it so a property owner is liable for injuries children sustain if harm is caused by conditions or objects that are both dangerous and attractive to children.

Attractive nuisance is, for all intents, an exception to normal premises liability, where generally speaking, property owners owe no duty of care to trespassers. The law is written to protect children, who are assumed to lack good judgment to identify dangers.

In order to hold a property owner liable under Attractive Nuisance, there are 5 legal elements to consider:

• Foreseeable Trespassing: The landowner knows, or has reason to know that children might trespass near the hazardous place.
• Unreasonable Risk: The hazard/hazardous condition poses an unreasonable risk or harm to children.
• Inability of the Child to Comprehend: The child does not realize or appreciate the risk of coming within the bounds of the hazard.
• Low Cost to Fix vs. High Danger: The cost of maintaining the property/eliminating the danger is small relative to the risk to children.
• Failure to Exercise Reasonable Care: The owner does not take sufficient care to eliminate the danger or protect children from the danger.

Generally speaking, when a hazard is man-made, inherently dangerous, and appealing to a child all at once, it is considered an attractive nuisance. As such, swimming pools tend to be some of the most frequent examples of this.

Legal Duties of Hotels and Apartment Complexes in Tampa Pool Injury Cases

Hotels and apartment complexes are classified as private businesses/property, but also as places of public accommodation. Under this classification, they have certain duties to the public in the eyes of the law.

Florida premises liability law treats guests, visitors, and even tenants themselves at hotels and apartment buildings as invitees. This puts a duty of care, and thus the responsibility of keeping the premises reasonably safe, on property owners.

There are four formally recognized duties property owners must observe.

Duty to Maintain

Hotels need to invest active upkeep in keeping their premises clean and safe for invitees. Lobbies, guest rooms, connecting hallways and stairs, and of course, pool areas have to be kept in a safe condition specifically because people are expected to frequent these areas.

This means anything, from broken risers to slip hazards, becomes the responsibility of the property or business owner if someone gets hurt because of them. As such, they are required to clean up spills and begin repairs as needed.

Duty to Inspect

Hotels and apartment complexes generally cannot claim ignorance of a dangerous condition. They are expected to have routine sweeps and audits to check for any hazards.

Under the legal doctrine of constructive notice, if a hazard has been around for long enough that an inspection would have discovered it, then legally, the business is treated as if they knew about it for the purpose of a Tampa premises liability claim.

Duty to Warn

If a hazard is discovered, and/or if it cannot be immediately addressed, it is the duty of a hotel or apartment complex to warn people of the hazard. If a loose tile next to a swimming pool is a known problem, for example, then to address it, management will need:

• A bright yellow “uneven/damaged surface” A-frame sign.
• A barricade, using safety cones, tape, or barriers.
• Constant and adequate lighting.

Duty to Provide Adequate Security

Property owners don’t have a duty to prevent crimes committed by third parties unless the crime is reasonably foreseeable. Did similar crimes happen recently? Did they happen near the property? This foreseeability varies from case to case, and usually requires evidence to determine.

High Risk Pool Injuries in Tampa

Beyond the typical slip-and-falls associated with premises liability cases, there are several major injury risks associated with pools: drain entrapments and hypoxic brain injuries

• Drain Entrapment: This happens when pool pumps generate sufficient pressure to trap swimmers against drains. Besides being major drowning hazards, drain entrapment can damage limbs or internal organs.
• Equipment Failures: These can range from chemical feed failures that pump dangerous levels of chlorine into the water, to simple but deadly underwater wiring causing electrocution.
• Near-Drowning: Non-fatal drownings can still lead to severe brain damage through oxygen deprivation.

Discuss Your Case with a Tampa Legal Professional 

If you’ve been hurt at a swimming pool, you need a Tampa personal injury lawyer with solid experience in Florida premises liability. Whether it’s in a private residence, a resort, or an apartment complex, Darrigo & Diaz Personal Injury Attorneys is here to build your case.

Attorney Nadine Diaz, Board Certified Civil Trial Law Specialist, offers services specific to the needs of accident victims in Hillsborough County. To get started with your claim, contact us today at (813) 774-3341 and work with our team on your Tampa swimming pool accident case.

Swimming Pool Accident FAQ

How long do I have to file a swimming pool accident lawsuit in Tampa, FL?

Florida sets a deadline of two years from the date of the incident for both non-fatal injuries and fatal accidents involving pools. This deadline is defined under Florida Statutes § 95.11(5)(a).

If an accident happens at one of Tampa’s twelve city-run pool facilities, victims will have to submit statutory notice requirements within 3 years of the injury before filing a lawsuit.

Can I sue a Tampa hotel or apartment complex if their pool didn’t have proper safety barriers?

Yes. Commercial properties have a strict duty of care to maintain safe premises for visitors. If a person is injured slipping into the pool.

Public and commercial pools are regulated by Florida Statutes Chapter 514 and the Florida Administrative Code (FAC) Rule 64E-9

What compensation can I recover for a near-drowning brain injury in a Tampa swimming pool accident?

A near-drowning brain injury is usually tied to oxygen deprivation. Left unaddressed, or addressed too late, damage can be permanent and require patients to undergo lifetime medical care.

Because of how serious these injuries are, victims are able to recover both economic and non-economic damages from liable parties.

• Economic damages include both immediate and long-term medical treatment and care, as well as home and vehicle modifications and services to assist victims living with long-term injuries. Compensation for wages over a set period of time is also often included.
• Non-economic damages account for the personal impact the injury has on the person’s life: the actual pain and suffering endured, the psychological effects, the loss of quality of life, etc.

In rare cases, punitive damages may also be awarded to deter similar acts of negligence in the future.