Orlando Swimming Pool Accident Lawyers for British Tourists
The City of Orlando is a popular holiday destination for British tourists. Along with world-famous amusement parks, cultural events, and nightlife, British tourists can spend endless hours lounging around a magnificent hotel pool or zipping down mountain-high water slides at one of the city’s water parks. When all goes as planned, a sunburn is the worst thing that happens after a day at the pool. For a British tourist injured in a swimming pool accident, however, the prospect of dealing with a foreign medical and legal system can be intimidating.
Swimming pool accidents can cause serious, even fatal, injuries. If you are a British tourist and you or a family member were injured in a swimming pool or water park accident while on holiday in Orlando, help is available from the Orlando swimming pool and water park accident lawyers for British tourists at Bailey Fisher. We understand how difficult it can be to find yourself (or a family member) injured while on holiday in another country. Let us use our extensive experience and resources to identify and pursue the party or parties responsible for your injuries. We are committed to securing the maximum compensation possible for your physical and emotional injuries. Contact the team at Bailey Fisher today by calling 407-628-2929 or submit our online form to find out how we can help you.
What Are Some Common Swimming Pool Accident Injuries?
It should come as no surprise that almost half (40 percent) of the swimming pools in the United States are found in California and Florida. Sadly, Florida also has the highest unintentional drowning death rate in the nation among children ages 1 to 4 years, ranks 5th for unintentional drowning deaths among children under age 17, and comes in 4th in the nation for unintentional drowning deaths for adults aged 18 and older, according to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Drowning, however, is not the only type of injury a victim may suffer in a swimming pool accident. Other common swimming pool accident injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Spinal cord injury.
- Paralysis.
- Broken and fractured bones.
- Neck and back injuries.
- Brain injury from a non-fatal drowning.
- Contusions and lacerations.
- Burns and other electrocution injuries.
What Causes Orlando Swimming Pool Accidents?
While we should all adhere to common sense safety measures when at a swimming pool or water park, you should not need to worry about how well a pool or water recreation attraction was designed or maintained while you are on holiday. Unfortunately, basic safety measures do not always keep you safe from dangers that can cause serious injuries in and around a swimming pool or water park, such as:
- Missing or defective anti-entrapment mechanism. Because of the inherent entrapment risk found in most pools, federal law requires all swimming pools to have an approved anti-entrapment device that prevents clothing, hair, or limbs from getting caught in a drain.
- Failing to install an approved fence or barrier. Florida law requires homeowners to install an approved fence or barrier aimed at preventing young children from accessing the pool without adult supervision.
- Inadequate supervision. The owner of a swimming pool has a duty to supervise the activity on the property. When lifeguards are present, the owner has a duty to ensure that those lifeguards have been properly trained.
- Missing safety equipment. Commercial swimming pools are required, under Florida law, to always have specific safety equipment available and easily accessible.
- Surface hazards surrounding the swimming pool. Naturally, the walkways close to a swimming pool will be wet; however, the owner has a duty to make sure those surfaces are as safe as possible. This duty may include things such as making sure water drains properly, keeping surfaces from becoming slick and slippery and repairing chips in concrete walkways.
- Defective pool equipment and parts. A commercial swimming pool typically has several complex systems that keep the pool clean, the water circulating, and the proper chemical ratio in the water. A defect in any of these systems can lead to serious injury.
- Broken pool parts. A broken ladder, steps, or diving board can be a major hazard that causes injury to a swimmer.
- Improperly installed or maintained wiring. The systems keeping a commercial pool operating properly involve electricity. An electrical system that is close to water must be properly installed and maintained to avoid the risk of burns and electrocution.
- Improperly designed water slides, tube slides, flume slides, or other water recreation area elements. Despite the sophisticated nature of Orlando’s water parks, the attorneys at Bailey Fisher have discovered that even the most well-known attractions have rides that are poorly-designed or engineered and which create unnecessary risks to visitors.
- Lack of appropriate maintenance, creating dangerous conditions at a swimming pool or water park.
Who Is Liable for Injuries in an Orlando Swimming Pool Accident?
Despite the use of the term “swimming pool accident,” many injuries suffered at or near a swimming pool or at a water park are not accidents. Instead, swimming pool or water park injuries are often caused by the negligent or wrongful conduct of one or more parties and should have been avoidable with proper care on the part of the property owners and/or managers
Whether the swimming pool is located on someone’s private property or is open to the public, the property owner owes a duty of care to visitors to the property. The extent of the duty of care is greater when the pool is a commercial pool open to the public; however, all property owners have a duty to take reasonable steps to keep a visitor to the property safe and/or to warn of hazards on the property. In the case of a commercial pool, a property owner even has a duty to keep visitors safe from hazards of which the owner should have been aware.
Sometimes, a product defect is to blame in a swimming pool accident. When a defective part or equipment caused or contributed to a swimming pool accident, anyone involved in the “chain of distribution” for that part or equipment may be held liable for injuries in a product liability lawsuit.
Am I Entitled to Compensation for My Orlando Swimming Pool Accident Injuries?
A swimming pool accident can leave the victim with serious physical injuries and significant emotional trauma. For a British tourist on holiday in Orlando who is injured in a swimming pool or water park accident, financial hardship often accompanies those injuries. Although you may be entitled to compensation from the party (or parties) responsible for your injuries, it can be daunting to consider navigating a foreign legal system without help. The good news is that help is available.
The Orlando swimming pool and water park accident lawyers for British tourists at Bailey Fisher are dedicated to making sure you are fully and fairly compensated for all your injuries, including compensation for medical and hospital bills, emotional distress, pain and suffering, travel expenses, and lost income.
If you lost a family member in an Orlando swimming pool accident, you may also be entitled to pursue compensation through a Florida wrongful death lawsuit.
Orlando Swimming Pool Accident Lawyers for British Tourists Can Help
If you are a British tourist who was injured, or you lost a family member, in an Orlando swimming pool or water park accident, you need a competent, compassionate, and committed attorney on your side. At Bailey Fisher, our Orlando swimming pool accident lawyers for British tourists will use their exceptional skills, experience, and resources to pursue the maximum compensation on your behalf and ensure that the at-fault party is held accountable.
Call us at 407-628-2929 or submit our online form today. One of our experienced Orlando swimming pool accident lawyers for British tourists attorneys will evaluate your case for free and advise you on the next steps.