What do I do if my child has been injured in a swimming pool

Too many times children are left unsupervised in a bathtub or a swimming pool. A child can drown in as little as one teaspoon of water. Studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that drowning accidents are the second most common cause of child fatalities for children who are between the ages of one and fourteen and thousands of children are injured or killed as a result of drowning accidents every year in the United States including many in Missouri and Kansas and right here in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Drownings are common and even occur in the jacuzzi and of course at the beach. There are many causes for pool, bathtub, jacuzzi, and beach drownings, almost all including some form of negligence, and these include the following:

• careless and negligent supervision
• insufficient or nonexistent pool covers
• careless and negligent care of the elderly

Regardless of who has drowned or been injured due to a near drowning, it is more likely than not that someone had responsibility for caring for that person and protecting them from injury and death. Unless someone can swim they should never be allowed in the water by themselves and without supervision. Children should be prohibited from playing in or near yards with uncovered, blocked or fenced off pools. Elderly patients should never be left in the bathtub or jacuzzi because they may have a condition that makes them more susceptible to drowning including being too weak to keep their head above the water which can lead to drowning.