Louisiana has the second-highest drowning rate of any state in the country. Nationwide, drowning is the leading cause of death for American toddlers ages one to four. With rivers, beaches, and swimming pools abundant in our state, it’s vital for parents, apartment managers, and pool owners to be vigilant when it comes to drowning accident prevention.
Here are the most important things you can do to prevent drowning accidents:
- Assign a “water watcher”
- Know your swimmers’ medical conditions
- Always swim with somebody else
- Sign your baby up for swimming lessons
#1: Assign a Water Watcher
Whether you’re at a pool party, a river picnic, or on a group beach trip, always have an adult or older teenager assigned to watch the water. You can do it in 20-minute shifts, or if someone is willing they can supervise the water the entire time. The idea is to have someone who is always responsible for the safety of the swimmers. Even if the water watcher isn’t a strong swimmer, they should be willing to notify a swimmer nearby as soon as they see trouble.
Keep in mind that someone should always be responsible for watching the pool, even if no one is using it. It’s when a pool isn’t being used that drowning accidents are likely to happen.
#2: Know Your Swimmers’ Medical Conditions
If a swimmer is prone to seizures or asthma attacks, you need to be aware of that as a pool owner. When people use your pool, whether you’re a homeowner with a pool or an apartment manager or a hotel owner, it’s vital that you know the medical conditions of your swimmers to prevent serious accidents.
#3: Always Swim with Someone Else
This is for adults as well as kids: never swim alone. Even if you’re a strong swimmer, swimming alone means any accident could leave you vulnerable to a serious injury or death. If you’re swimming somewhere public (like a beach or a community or hotel pool), then make sure there’s a lifeguard on duty.
#4: Sign Your Baby Up for Swimming Lessons
The best prevention for drowning accidents is teaching a baby how to swim—or more accurately, how to float. Infant swim lessons are designed to give babies good reflexes that rely on their natural buoyancy to save their lives. Infant swim instructors teach babies how to turn belly-up in the water, keeping their faces toward the air.
Teaching babies how to float without fear is a key part of helping your child learn to swim as they get older. The more comfortable they are in the water, the less likely they are to panic when they’re in an accident, which could save their life.
At Clayton, Frugé & Ward, our drowning accident lawyers want to make sure swimmers are as safe as possible. Sometimes, that means raising awareness for drowning accident prevention; in other cases, it means holding negligent pool owners accountable for unsafe pool practices. If your loved one drowned in someone else’s pool, you deserve answers. More importantly, you deserve justice.
Call (225) 209-9943 today to get a free consultation with our drowning accident lawyers.