A new season can bring new hazards with it, and one of the most notable hazards in summer must be swimming pools. It is important to make sure that your own kids are prepared to safely approach pools, and it is just as important to protect yourself from liability if you have a pool of your own. And if you or a loved one still get injured on someone else’s property despite your best efforts, you may need the assistance of our New Jersey premises liability lawyers.
How Can You Make Your Own Swimming Pools Safer?
If you have a swimming pool of your own, you want to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to limit your own liability and keep the area as safe as possible for neighbors and loved ones. We recommend that you:
- Use a lockable cover and lock up the pool when no one is using it
- Build fencing around the pool
- Install a gate that can close and lock automatically
- Remove ladders from aboveground pools when they are not in use
- Keep furniture or anything else that can be stood on or climbed away from an aboveground pool
If you have another property, like a vacation home, that has a pool, then taking these steps is even more important. If you are not always there to keep an eye on the property, you want to make sure that people cannot get in and hurt themselves. Installing a security camera or two that you can use to check in on the property can be smart too.
How Can I Teach My Kids About Safety in Swimming Pools?
You can do everything possible to secure your own swimming pool, but not everyone takes the same precautions. Even if you do not expect to be around pools too often, keep in mind that 69 percent of young children who drown were not expected to be near swimming pools. So you need to be sure that your kids are prepared for this common summertime hazard and that they will behave safely around them.
Teaching your kids some basic swimming skills is obviously helpful, but it is also good to set some other rules. For example, make sure that they know not to swim without a buddy and that the pool is off-limits when no adults are around to watch them. If you have your older kids watching their siblings in the pool, make it clear that watching their brothers and sisters is the top priority and that distractions like smartphones need to be set aside.
What If I Get Injured On Someone Else’s Property?
When you get injured on someone else’s property, that is a premises liability case. If you or a loved one get hurt and you believe that it was due to a property owner’s negligence, you may want to pursue compensation. A lawyer from our firm can help.
Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you get injured on someone else’s property this summer, you may have a case. An attorney from Rubenstein, Berliner & Shinrod, LLC can help you deal with the insurance companies and pursue compensation. Schedule your free consultation today.