Who’s Liable for a Drowning Accident in Arizona?
After a drowning accident in Arizona, it can be challenging to know who to look to when assigning liability and filing for compensation. Unlike with car crashes, dog bites, and other direct assaults, there often won’t be a specific party who’ll immediately and obviously be to blame, meaning that you’ll need to look beyond the surface level details of the accident to discover who was negligent.
Property Owners and Staff
Property owners are legally required to effectively maintain the premises and ensure that all federal, state-wide, and local safety standards are met. Failing to do so could render an owner liable, depending on the type of property they manage:
Public pools and semi-public pools, such as those found in most hotels, have a variety of exacting standards to follow, especially if they feature diving boards or other water features. Hotels are also liable for design inadequacies, such as slick poolside surfaces, and many other forms of negligence.- Privately owned swimming pools must adhere to Arizona’s swimming pool enclosure laws, which necessitate locked fences of specific dimensions to prevent others from mistakenly entering a pool area and drowning. However, private property owners have less responsibility in terms of general maintenance, as they have tighter control over who accesses their pool, when.
Beyond the property owner, maintenance personnel may also be liable for failing to fulfill their responsibilities, provided that they didn’t act within the scope of their employment.
Caretakers and Supervisors
Nearly all child drowning fatalities can be traced to negligent supervision, whether during a planned swimming outing or when a child gains access to a pool without anyone knowing. This can result in a parent, trusted caretaker, or lifeguard being liable for a child’s drowning-related injuries and death, especially if they were distracted or disregarded the safety of those they were responsible for.
Capable adults are generally responsible for their own safety, but certain supervisors may be at least partially liable for drowning accidents regardless. Boat operators can be liable if they fail to enforce proper safety standards and life-vest usage among their guests, as could scuba instructors or other water-activity facilitators who act negligently and expose others to unexpected danger.
How Arizona Drowning Accident Attorneys Help
Drowning accidents can completely alter the course of one’s life or cut it short altogether. Either way, those hurt by the drowning deserve extensive compensation, which you’ll need a legal professional in order to secure. Proving that another party was liable for a drowning incident can be extremely challenging without the right legal resources and know-how, so it’s in your best interest to seek legal representation.
Let ELG’s Arizona drowning accident attorneys help you. We can handle the claims process on your behalf and safeguard you from the ruthless efforts of insurance adjusters and the defense’s legal team, giving you the peace of mind and freedom of time to focus on your well being and life at large. Schedule your free consultation today by giving us a call at (623) 877-3600, and you can learn more about your unique case and how you can seek compensation most effectively.
