Premises Liability and pool safety. Congress passed a new pool safety law in 2007 but it does not appear to be as effective as hoped. There are serious hazards associated with pool and spa drains. Strong swimmers, adult and child alike can be sucked in by a pool or spa drain trapped underwater until they drown and in some cases, are disemboweled.
Unfortunately many are not aware of this risk until it is too late and the new law was passed to prevent these tragic injuries and consequences. Many pool owners have worked diligently to become compliant only to discover that it is not enough-as shown by the 2011 recall of more than one million pool drain covers.
The new law was supposed to award $4 million in grants for states to bring their pool safety codes up to federal standards. As of this date, not one state has followed through on this requirement. The biggest issue being the ability of the safety agency, the CPSC, to enforce the new standards. Currently, the agency has contracted out with 16 state and local health departments for inspection contracts which cover less than 1% of the 300,000 commercial pools in the United States. That does not even include residential pools or spas which number more than 16 million! An investigation by the CPSC has found that the testing laboratories that certified the safety of the pool drain covers as meeting safety standards applied those standards inconsistently and incorrectly, meaning many of those covers may be unsafe for the pools they are installed in.
Swimmers must beware of these dangers. Summer time means fun but also the personal injuries associated with swimming and pools. Grazian and Volpe, Chicago Injury Attorneys understand these risks and premises liability. Please follow us on TV, YouTube and Facebook to keep yourself apprised of how you can avoid danger and stay healthy!
