Swimming Pool Accidents: Keeping Up With the Joneses

People with kids have all been there. Your child comes home from a friend’s house talking about all the awesome toys and video games their friend’s family has. Or the friend’s dad got a new car. Or the friend’s mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies.

Whenever our children come home with these wonderful stories, it can be tempting to try to keep up with the Joneses’. We might run out and buy a new television set that is just a little bit bigger and better, or we might find a killer cookie recipe online. There is nothing wrong with wanting to buy things for your family. But there are dangers that can come from this desire to keep up.

Many of the most common things that inspire envy in children must be kept outdoors and come with their own dangers, and these things include:

• Trampolines, which have a large risk of broken bones and head trauma from falling
• Swing sets, which have the same risk as trampolines, as well as the risk that the swing set will collapse during use
• Pools, which have major risks of drowning, even for children who can swim

These things can all be dangerous in and of themselves, but can be especially dangerous when combined, as a story out of Arizona reminds us. An 8 year old girl was at friend’s house, and the friend’s family had built a swing set very near the pool, trying to get every fun outside activity into the small space they had. The swing set collapsed, knocking two children into the pool and inflicting severe head trauma. The 8 year old was already dead when they pulled her from the water.

If you want swing sets and pools, it is important you keep safety in mind at all times. There should always be adequate space between outdoor play equipment, and there should be a fence around the pool. The pool owners’ in this story wanted to have everything a child could ever want, and because of that another child is dead.

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed due to the unsafe actions of another, please contact an attorney. It is important that the public be educated about the dangers of things like swing sets and pools, and a lawyer can help you get your story told and help you make a positive change.