A day at the pool is supposed to be relaxing. Then a cracked step, a missing gate latch, or a slick deck turns it into an emergency room visit. If you were injured at a swimming pool in San Diego, you are probably wondering whether someone else should answer for it.
In many cases, the answer is yes. Pool owners and property managers have a legal duty to keep their pools reasonably safe. When they cut corners and someone gets hurt, the law gives that person a path to hold them accountable.
You can file a claim when a pool owner’s carelessness caused your injury. These cases fall under premises liability, the area of law that covers accidents on someone else’s property.
The owner does not have to make the pool perfectly safe. They do have to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. Skip those steps, and they may be on the hook for what happens next.
The party responsible is not obvious in every case, either. It could be a homeowner, a landlord, a property management company, or the business that runs the facility. Part of our job is pinning down who controlled the pool and who let the hazard exist.
California law puts a general duty of care on property owners under Civil Code Section 1714.
To win a claim, you generally need to show four things:
This applies to more than backyard pools. It can also cover apartment complexes, hotels, gyms, public pools, and water parks. Whoever controlled the property is often the party that answers for the danger.
Pool injuries rarely come out of nowhere. They usually trace back to a hazard the owner should have fixed.
Common examples include:
If any of these sounds familiar, take photos and write down what happened while it is fresh.
California takes pool safety seriously, especially for young children. Under the Swimming Pool Safety Act, a new or remodeled residential pool must include at least two approved drowning-prevention features.
Those options include:
When an owner ignores these rules and a preventable injury follows, that violation can become strong evidence in your claim.
Few things are more painful than a child hurt near water. The risk is very real. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, and pools are where many of those tragedies happen. Survivors of nonfatal drowning can face brain damage or lasting disability.
The law also recognizes that children do not judge danger the way adults do. Under the attractive nuisance rule, a pool can draw a curious child onto the property. If the owner failed to fence or secure it, they may still be responsible even if the child was not invited.
When a family loses a loved one, a wrongful death claim can help cover funeral costs and the loss of support and companionship. We know money can never replace a person. It can, though, hold a careless owner accountable and ease part of the burden.
Depending on your case, compensation may include:
We build your claim around the full arc of your recovery, including care you may still need down the road.
Pool injuries can also involve children, which raises many of the same concerns we cover in our guide on suing after a child is injured at a playground.
Maybe the owner argues that you were running or ignored a sign. Do not let that talk you out of a claim. California uses a comparative fault system, which means you can still recover money even if you share some of the blame. Your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. We work hard to keep that number low.
Being injured at a swimming pool can leave you with mounting bills and a lot of doubt. You do not have to sort it out alone, and you should not take the first offer an insurance company waves in front of you.
At DP Injury Attorneys, we help injured people across San Diego stand up to negligent property owners and their insurers. Our premises liability team and slip-and-fall lawyers will listen to your story, investigate the hazard, and fight for every dollar you are owed.
Call or contact us online to schedule your free consultation today.
Arthur Paul D’Egidio is the Managing Partner of DP Injury Attorneys, a San Diego personal injury law firm. With more than 12 years of experience in California injury law, he has dedicated his practice to representing clients in a wide range of personal injury matters, including car accidents, workers’ compensation, slip and falls, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.
Arthur received his Juris Doctor from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and is a member of the State Bar of California as well as the San Diego County Bar Association. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including being named a Super Lawyer for seven straight years by Thomson Reuters and a “Top 40 Under 40” by the National Trial Lawyers.
