Swimming Pool Liability Lawyer Atlanta

How Swimming Pool Negligence Falls Under Premises Liability

Having a pool at your home or business in Georgia can provide you, your family, and your customers with many days of fun swimming. However, many home and business owners who are negligent or reckless in how they take care of their pool and provide security and supervision for it may face a premises liability claim.

According to Georgia State law, O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, home and business owners who directly or indirectly invite someone, known as a “licensee” or “invitee” on their land, including the use of a swimming pool, are liable for damages, determined through injuries, sustained due to the failure of the premises owner to exercise and maintain a reasonably safe premises environment. If the home or business owner fails to maintain this duty a premises liability claim may be filed against the owner.

A “licensee” or “invitee” is defined as anyone who is legally permitted by direct or implied invitation.

For homeowners, this would include any friends or family members who are invited for a social gathering such as a birthday party or barbecue, for example. For businesses with a pool, such as a hotel or a gym, its customers are a perfect illustration of what an “invitee” is. There are two material attributes of an invitee. The invitee has lawfully entered upon the owner’s premises with permission. The invitee and the premises owner must also have some sort of mutual gain.

If you or a family member has suffered injuries, physical or emotional, from the negligence or recklessness of a pool swimming accident at a home or business, you may have a premises liability claim. The only way to protect your legal rights with respect to a premises liability claim is to speak with Georgia pool injury attorney Shane Smith. 

Call Shane Smith Law at (980) 246-2656 for a free legal consultation to make sure all of your legal rights are preserved.

Do I Have a Claim?

While a premises liability claim most certainly can include the swimming pool itself, it also includes the area surrounding the swimming pool, the premises itself, and also the “approaches” to the premises itself. Therefore, you may have a premises liability claim if a homeowner or business owner is negligent beyond the swimming pool itself.

A Georgia home or property owner may be found guilty of a Georgia premises liability claim if they:

• Fail to fence or adequately fence the swimming pool itself and the surrounding area
• Fail to supervise or improperly supervise people swimming in one’s pool
• Fail to have trained safety professionals or do not have appropriate staff to handle the existing pool size and the number of visitors or customers

These circumstances are just some of the reasons why a premises liability claim may be pursued under Georgia law. However, even if a home or business owner is found to be negligent or reckless in one of these respects, damages must be suffered and sustained in order to prevail in a claim. It is essential to get medical care and emergency medical help as soon as an injury or drowning has occurred – it may very well save a life and will certainly show you and your family have mitigated your damages. 

Along with a fatal drowning, other swimming pool accident victims can suffer many types of injuries including:

• Spinal cord injury
• Fractured bones
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Oxygen deprivation leading to brain damage

Depending on the severity and medical treatment necessary at the scene of the accident and the recommend long-term medical treatment, there may be substantial damages. However, the only way to accurately determine your damages and make sure your legal rights are preserved is the speak with our pool injury attorneys in Georgia. 

Contact us at (980) 246-2656 to schedule a free legal consultation with Shane Smith Law and determine what legal rights you may be entitled to.