Texas Apartment Complex Pool Drownings
Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales L.L.P. have extensive experience litigating water accident cases involving swimming pool and hot tub drownings at apartment complexes throughout the United States. Our team has a thorough understanding of the law as it relates to the responsibility of apartment owners to adhere to State and Federal guidelines in maintaining a safe pool area. Because the laws governing water accidents are complicated and vary from state to state, it is of the utmost importance to contact an experienced and qualified legal team to handle your aquatic litigation case.
Apartment complex owners often allow a pool that passes an initial safety inspection to become unsafe over time. If a pool passes an inspection, it does not mean that it is approved for use for the entire year. When an apartment complex owner allows that pool to become murky over time or fails to ensure that the pool is equipped with essential safety equipment, such as a secure pool fence with working safety latches, a drowning accident can occur.
Apartment owners are required to ensure that pools meet State and Federal safety codes. Failure to comply with these laws is considered negligence per se in most states. Under the doctrine of negligence per se, violation of a law automatically gives rise to a presumption of negligence. That means that injury victims only have to prove that the apartment complex violated the law in order to be entitled to compensation for their injuries.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which went into effect in December of 2008, requires all public pool owners to install a drain cover that complies with standards set forth by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). In addition, if the pool has a single main drain (other than an unblockable drain), the operator must either disable the drain or install a second anti-entrapment device or system. This can take the form of an automatic shut-off system, gravity drainage system, Safety Vacuum Release System (SVRS) or suction-limiting vent system. Apartment complex owners that fail to meet these new standards open themselves up to liability if a child is injured or drowns in the apartment's pool.
Other safety features required in public pools and spas by Texas law include:
- Floor markings and floating safety rope between 1 and 2 feet of depth in pools over 5-feet deep;
- Depth markers on side walls and deck of pool;
- "No diving" warning signs for depths less than 6 feet;
- A reaching pole and throwing rope (or throwing rope with buoy for larger pools);
- Appropriate lighting that allows all areas of the deck area and water surface to be seen at night;
- Barrier fence with safety latches on all pool gates.
These are only some of the safety requirements mandated by the Texas Administrative Code. For more information about the adequacy of safety features at your apartment, townhouse, or condominium pool area, contact the aquatic litigation experts at Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales L.L.P. for a free consultation regarding your case.
Apartment owners are not the only parties that may be held liable in pool accident cases. Security companies that supervise and patrol apartment complexes may also be held liable for injuries and drownings in apartment pools if security personnel were negligent in performing their contractual duties. An experienced attorney can help you determine all parties that may be held liable for causing your injuries.
