When you and your family pack up and head out on your vacation, you look forward to spending time together. The kids (and the adults) can’t wait to get to the hotel so they can swim in the pool and get some sun. In Texas, it’s warmer than most other parts of the country so you can swim almost all year round. What this means is that there are more swimming pool accidents in the Lone Star State than most other places.
Whether you’re a child or an adult, you still need to be careful when you swim in a public pool. Most hotel pools have a deep end. Many of them also have slides and diving boards. This means that your kids are going to be at a greater risk of drowning or suffering a pool accident. Ideally, your hotel will have a lifeguard on duty to make sure nobody gets hurt. But there’s only so much they can do. There are times when, no matter who is on duty, you or your child are going to get hurt in the pool.
The thing is, hotels are required to have a lifeguard on duty if they’re going to let their guests swim in their pool. Whether the pool is indoor or outdoor, there needs to be a lifeguard working at all times. It’s their job to make sure everyone in and out of the pool is safe. When they don’t do their job, people get hurt. And, if this happens to you or your loved one, you’re going to need to call an experienced swimming pool accident attorney in Houston, Texas.
How Can You Prove the Hotel Was Negligent?
In order to recover anything against a hotel for a pool accident, you need to show that they were negligent. Your Houston personal injury attorney will need to demonstrate four (4) things in order to do this:
- The hotel owed you a duty of care – This isn’t difficult to prove at all. As long as you’re a registered guest, the hotel owes you a duty of safety. This includes having a qualified lifeguard on duty by the pool at all times. If the pool is open, they need to have someone there to make sure everyone is safe.
- They breached this duty – This is where your Houston injury attorney comes into play. Proving that the hotel breached their duty of care is not easy. You have to show that they behaved in a way that a reasonable hotel manager would not behave. For example, if they have a 14-year old kid working as a lifeguard, they may be in breach. You cannot expect a teenager to be able to competently save someone who is drowning, especially if that person is a grown adult.
- You were injured – It’s not enough to show that you were involved in a pool accident. For example, if your child almost drowns but is rescued, then you won’t really have a claim for damages. You or your child have to suffer an actual injury in order to file suit for negligence.
- Your injuries were caused by their breach – You do have to show that your injuries were directly caused by the accident. So, if you already have a medical condition, it may be hard to argue that the pool accident caused that problem. The defendant will show medical records proving that it was an pre-existing medical condition.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Houston, Texas
If you or your loved one suffer a pool accident and there was no lifeguard on duty, chances are, you’re going to suffer some pretty serious injuries. The problem with drowning accidents and pool injuries is that can be life changing. Just a few minutes under the water can cause permanent brain damage. You may not be in a position to deal with insurance companies and lawyer by yourself. That’s why you should call an experienced Houston personal injury law firm sooner rather than later.
Call our office today and schedule your free initial consultation. You can sit down with an attorney that has your best interests at heart. They’ll review your case and answer any questions you may have. They can also give you an idea of what your case may be worth. The consultation is free and you don’t pay a dime until you settle your case. Let your Houston injury attorney handle the legal side of things. This way, you can focus on getting better. The defendant will have a team of lawyers working for them and you should too.