Houston Swimming Pool Accident Attorney

South Texas Attorney Michael Grossman Discusses Texas Pool Drowning Accidents

Houston may be known for a wide variety of its defining characteristics, but most people associate one word with the town: hot. The moist air from the Gulf of Mexico climbs into the city’s center and sits like a blanket.

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Summer days are sweltering. Children and adults alike can’t wait for the chance to cool off in a backyard pool in a Houston suburb. Unfortunately, the allure of swimming pools in Houston can also result in a costly price if proper steps aren’t taken to ensure pool safety. Swimming pool drowning accidents in Houston can lead to serious or severe personal injury, or even death by drowning. When a child drowning accident occurs, the effects on the child’s health could lead to lifelong medical issues requiring constant care and a mountainous hill of medical bills. If you may have suffered an injury due to a swimming pool accident in south Texas, of if you’ve had the unfortunate experience to have lost a loved one due to a Houston swimming pool drowning accident, Michael Grossman, a Houston swimming pool accident attorney with 20 years of practice, may be able to help you seek compensation for your injury or loss in addition to pursuing justice against the parties responsible for your injury or loss.


Swimming Pool Accidents in Houston

Many pool accidents that result in children suffering an injury or a child drowning occur due to negligent supervision. This term means that a child entrusted to the care of an adult was not appropriately supervised near a swimming pool. Such pools could be public pools, apartment pools, school pools, or rec center pools. Child swimming pool accidents in Houston can occur with little to no notice, as a child can fall into a pool, or experience distress within a pool, in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, with each second that goes by as a child suffers under the water, an injury may be developing and worsening. Lack of oxygen to a child’s brain can result in severe medical issues that may plague a child for the rest of their life. If such a child suffers a fatal drowning accident at a swimming pool in Houston, a parent’s loss would be indescribable. In either situation, i.e. if a child suffers an injury due to a pool accident or if a child dies due to a fatal swimming pool drowning, the parents or guardians of that child may be able to seek restitution for their child’s injury or loss through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. The results of a successful civil suit can assist such a family with incurred medical costs in addition to identifying the liable parties so that they can be held properly accountable for their negligent role in contributing to the swimming pool accident.

Some swimming pool accidents in Houston, TX are caused by improper maintenance of the pool or the areas around the pool. People who have pools in their backyards have a great appreciation for the amount of work that must go into taking care of a pool so that the water remains clean, the pool equipment remains functional, and the areas near the pool don’t pose a safety hazard to their guests. Such maintenance is required of all pools in order to provide for public safety. If murky or unclean water causes a person to develop an illness, they may have merit in pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible for maintaining the pool’s water to be clean. If a person is injured due to a defective pool drain, such a lawsuit may also have merit.

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Furthermore, equipment used within the pool and outside of the pool can prove to be potential hazards. Broken pool gates that allow small children to trespass into a pool area can be a great cause for concern. Broken diving boards or other equipment that may be used over and over again at a public pool can also prove to be a great risk to those that choose to use such devices. Essentially, there are many ways that a person can suffer an injury at a swimming pool, and not all of them may result in a drowning accident. In order to determine whether or not your swimming pool accident in Houston may have merit in being a personal injury case, consider contacting Houston swimming pool accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices toll-free at 1-855-392-0000 for a free and confidential legal consultation.


Premises Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents in Houston, TX

Since thousands of residents in Houston own pools, the notion of premises liability can often play a role in swimming pool personal injury cases. The following information provides a brief overview of this legal concept. Premises liability is often involved in personal injury cases where a victim has received an injury while on someone else’s property. A property owner, such as the owner of a pool, has specific legal duties toward visitors at their residence. However, the legal duties owed are dependent on the definition of the visitor:

  • Invitee: One who visits a property for the mutual benefit of both parties, i.e. a shopper visiting a store. Both the shopper and the store-owner benefit from the visit.
  • Licensee: One who visits a property for their own benefit, i.e. a person visiting their friend’s house for a pool party.
  • Trespasser: One who visits a property without the property owner’s permission, i.e. a thief.

Where backyard swimming pool accidents are most likely concerned, a licensee will be the type of visitor involved in such an accident. Such a licensee must be warned, by the property owner, about any pre-existing conditions at the property owner’s site that may pose a hazard to their safety. In other words, the owner of a pool must take pro-active steps in order to ensure the safety of their visitors while using their pool. If a visitor sustains an injury or suffers a fatal pool accident while at a person’s private pool, a premises liability claim may be brought against the property owner for such an accident. However, bringing such a claim can prove to have certain challenges, especially if an insurance company, such as in the form of a homeowners’ insurance policy, becomes involved in such a case. Houston swimming pool accident attorney Michael Grossman has two decades of working against such insurance companies in order to help his clients seek fair compensation for their injury or loss. Furthermore, Grossman Law Offices will conduct a thorough investigation into any swimming pool accident in order to ascertain who the liable parties are so that they can be held properly accountable for their actions, or inaction, as the case may be.


The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act

Named after a young girl who suffered a fatal injury as a result of becoming trapped in a pool drain cover, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act was enacted in late 2008 to ensure that all public pools use anti-entrapment drain covers in order to prevent further fatal pool accidents from occurring. Such anti-entrapment drain covers must be used at school pools, apartment pools, hotel pools, and other types of public pools. While the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act has been beneficial in regards to increasing public pool safety, accidents caused by negligent entrustment or lack of proper maintenance can still occur.


Pursuing Civil Action for a Swimming Pool Accident in Houston

Pool accidents can happen in many different settings, from a backyard pool to a rec center swimming pool to a pool at a water park. Such accidents can result in serious injury that will likely be accompanied by substantial amounts of medical costs being incurred by the injured victim. Furthermore, the pain and suffering experienced by a pool accident victim can often be quite immense, in addition to the mental turmoil or emotional distress of possibly suffering a near-fatal drowning accident. Compensation can be sought for medical bills and pain and suffering, in addition to other types of financial losses often incurred as a result of a pool drowning accident.

Should a loved one have succumbed to injuries sustained in a pool accident, or should they have died as a result of a swimming pool drowning in Houston, the loss you’ve experienced is incalculable. While compensation for your loss cannot return your loved one to you, it can work as a punitive measure against the negligent parties so that the liable parties will work to ensure that their actions do not have to cause further harm or loss to another family. With 20 years of experience in wrongful death cases in Texas, Houston swimming pool accident attorney Michael Grossman can help you through this difficult time so that the liable parties are held accountable for their actions.

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Discovering how a pool accident may have occurred can often be a challenging process. However, Grossman Law Offices is experienced in conducting thorough investigations into accidents so that all liable parties are identified. Our goal is to discover the cause or causes of a pool accident so that you may be able to seek fair compensation for your injury or loss. Whether as a result of premises liability, product liability, negligent entrustment, or another legal issue, Houston swimming pool accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices have the experience, knowledge, and reputation that can assist you in pursuing justice against those responsible for your injury or loss caused by a swimming pool accident in Houston, Texas.



Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases

Confidential Recovery - Wrongful Death / Premises Liability
Facility sued for negligent contribution to the death of an innocent bystander. A fatal shooting occurred on the property after the facility failed to appropriately respond to outbursts of violence & gang activity. Following the young man's death, his parents hired our firm to pursue the facility for their negligent actions including failure to provide adequate security. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
Confidential
Attorney Fees:
Confidential
Litigation Expenses:
Confidential
$40,000.00 Recovery - Premises Liability Accident (Foot Injury Requiring Surgery)
Recovery for client who needed surgery on her foot due to a slip and fall accident.
Total Recovery:
$40,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$16,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$1,168.00
$100,000.00 Recovery - Premises Liability Accident (Contusions & Sprained Ankle)
Recovery for client who sustained contusions and a sprained ankle in a premises liability accident.
Total Recovery:
$100,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$37,272.00
Litigation Expenses:
$1,730.00
$50,500.00 Recovery - Premises Liability Accident (Contusions and a Soft-Tissue Knee Injury)
Recovery for client who suffered contusions and a soft tissue knee injury in a slip and fall.
Total Recovery:
$50,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$19,102.00
Litigation Expenses:
$265.00
$350,000.00 Recovery - Premises Liability (Brain Injury)
Our attorneys sued an apartment complex in relation to a brain injury sustained by a toddler when he fell through a balcony railing. The apartment complex denied liability, asserted that their railings were in spec at the time of the building's construction (some 20 years prior), and they claimed that the child's mother was contributorily negligent in that she did not notice that her child was playing near the railing.

Through litigation, our attorneys countered the defendant's arguments by showing that the case law does not support the notion of any safety related concerns in the building code being "grandfathered" in. On the contrary, a property owner has an obligation to keep safety features such as balcony railings within the specs at all times. The railings in this complex were spaced at 7 inch intervals, which was at odds with the now-standard 4 inch interval.

Additionally, our attorneys countered the claims of contributory negligence as a practical matter in that the mother was indeed monitoring the child's activity and the child literally ran up to the railing and immediately fell through the rails. Alternatively, we argued that the doctrine of parental immunity applied and that the contributory negligence, if any such negligence ever even occurred, of the mother would not be admissible. The case was satisfactorily resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$350,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$115,500.00
Litigation Expenses:
$5,000.00
$50,000.00 Recovery - Premises Liability Accident (Soft-Tissue Injuries)
Recovery for the victim of a slip and fall premises liability accident.
Total Recovery:
$50,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$20,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$485.00