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Lamber: Take steps to stay safe, prevent drowning this summer

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Six Phoenix child drowning deaths already ahead of Memorial Day foreshadow a deadly summer unless we take proper precautions and follow the law.

Already the city of Phoenix experienced five fatal pediatric drownings through March 2022.

Another occurred April 1 in west Phoenix when a 3-year-old girl was pulled unconscious and not breathing from a pool. These young lives, cut tragically short so early in the year, foreshadow a deadly swim season beginning Memorial Day.

In the U.S., more children ages 1-4 die from drowning than any other cause of death except birth defects. And, because of the prevalence of pools, children in Arizona drown at almost twice the national rate. For children ages 1-14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle accidents.

While the city of Phoenix has recently launched a campaign called Drowning Zero with a vision to eliminate both adult and pediatric drownings through education, supervision and community action, Arizona and local municipal laws are very clear regarding homeowner responsibility to prevent pediatric drowning deaths.

The law applies to homes where children are residing who are less than 6 years old and states that:

A swimming pool or “contained body of water” deeper than 18 inches, wider than 8 feet and is intended for swimming, shall be protected by:

  • An enclosure of at least 5-feet tall
  • Have no openings in the barrier through which a spherical object 4 inches in diameter can pass
  • The surrounding wall must be at least 20 inches from the water’s edge
  • Gates must be self-closing and self-latching with the latch at least 54 inches above the ground and a release mechanism no less than 5 inches from the top of the gate, or be secured by a padlock that requires a key or electric opener which can have the latch at any height

Individual cities and towns in Maricopa County may have their own modifications to these rules so it is best to check with your municipality if you are building a pool or moving into a home where a pool exists.

Beyond and in addition to having appropriate barriers and fencing around a home pool, it is critically important that parents and caretakers carefully watch and monitor their young ones around pools or areas where drowning is a hazard.

If they do not, beyond potentially tragic outcomes involving their children, they can face civil and sometimes criminal liability if they are negligent or reckless when it comes to keeping children, teens and adults safe at the pool.

We’ve all heard the saying “Two seconds is too long.” Already this year, too many young children have lost their lives at Arizona swimming pools, and some of those deaths may have been prevented by proper construction of pool barriers and through greater vigilance.

There are three key methods to reducing, and hopefully eliminating, child drowning deaths in Arizona this summer.

  • Make sure a sober adult is always with children around water and that the adult understands they must be watching the children and not be on their phones, reading or doing yard work.
  • Make sure proper pool barriers, as described above, are installed around any pool where a child may be present.
  • If a child does not know how to swim and is in the water, they must be in a Coast Guard-approved life jacket and not floaties.

At the same time, in the event of a serious injury or worse at one’s pool, it is more important than ever to have homeowners and/or renters’ insurance, as applicable, to help cover against civil accident claims.

There are different coverages depending on whether the pool is in-ground or above-ground or portable. Homeowners with pools and renters of homes with pools should contact their insurance agents to discuss their situations and to make sure appropriate insurance is in place.

In the event of a serious injury or death at an Arizona pool, a lawyer can provide counsel and help navigate the myriad of legal, medical and insurance issues that families face. Hopefully, by complying with Arizona pool fencing requirements and always supervising your young children, this will never be an issue!

Editor’s note: Marc Lamber is a director at Fennemore Craig and chairs the Personal Injury Practice Group and has been featured in national and local media.