As summer draws closer in Illinois, you may be excited to open the pool back up at your house, or you may be planning a trip to the city pool. Before you do this, though, you want to know about the risks. Below are a few key facts you should know regarding accidental drownings.
The federal government has compiled the stats, and, for children between the ages of 1 and 14, drowning is the second-leading cause of death when looking at injury-related deaths that are accidental. Though other types of deaths may be slightly more common–like accidental deaths in car crashes–drowning does not get nearly the same level of press, despite being surprisingly common.
The risk is higher for those who are between the ages of 1 and 4, as you may expect. For that age group, drowning is the single leading cause of death–again, when looking at injury-related deaths.
Fatal accidents are not all you should worry about, though. Studies have shown that for each child who passes away in one of these tragic accidents, four more suffer injuries that are serious enough that they need to be taken to the emergency room.
A drowning accident can happen incredibly quickly. Most parents reported that they simply had not seen the child for under five minutes, and the child was then found in a pool, hot tub or similar area. Clearly, children do not have to be out of sight for long to get into trouble.
If your child has been injured or even passed away on someone else’s property, it may be wise to look into your rights to compensation if the property was inherently unsafe.
Source: FindLaw, “Swimming Pool Injuries,” accessed April 29, 2016