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Hotel pools can be a luxurious getaway for guests, but even the most stunning hotel pools have some inherent risks. Spas or hot tubs can also pose a risk to pool-goers as well. Even if you are a careful swimmer, you may still be injured. Negligent hotels and staff can cause dangerous conditions for guests, and if you are injured, you may be able to file a personal injury claim.
There are many ways you may be injured in or around a hotel pool. Fall, head trauma, spinal cord injuries, drowning or near-drowning accidents, and other injuries may occur. Liability for these injuries can be complex, however, so it is important to work with an experienced San Jose personal injury attorney to ensure that your claim is effective.
It is essential that you, the plaintiff, can prove that the hotel or the hotel staff were negligent in a way that caused you to sustain an injury. There are many ways negligence can cause injury when it comes to a hotel pool:
There are several types of claims that may be made if you are injured in a hotel pool. Choosing the right type of claim is critical to ensure that you can receive compensation for your injuries. Depending on the cause of your accident, you may file a negligence claim, a product liability claim, or a premises liability claim.
Learn more about each of these claims below.
Negligence Claims
A negligence claim can be brought against many parties, including the pool designers and installers and the hotel. If the pool designers or the company that installed the pool did not perform their duties with reasonable care, they may be held responsible for an injury. If you are injured by incorrectly installed pool equipment, the pool company may be the liable party.
If the hotel staff caused your injury in some way, the hotel owners may be held liable for the actions of their employees.
Product Liability Claims
A product liability claim would be most appropriate for an injury that was caused by a problem with the swimming pool or attached equipment, such as diving boards or defective pool drains. This claim would be filed against the swimming pool manufacturers, retailers, or distributors. The hotel itself would not be held liable for your injuries.
Premises Liability
These claims are brought against the pool owners, or in this case, the hotel. If there were inadequate warnings, poor or absent safety equipment, inadequate or absent safety fencing or alarms, or a lack of supervision, you may be able to file a premises liability claim. A safe pool should be properly maintained, have clear safety markings, conspicuously located safety equipment, adequate fencing, and be designed to prevent slippery surfaces. If you can show that the pool owners did not meet all reasonable requirements to prevent injury, you may be able to successfully recover damages for your accident.
When a pool owner posts clear and adequate warnings, the swimmers become partially responsible for their own safety. If the property owner has acted reasonably by posting warnings, they can defend themselves far more easily, if a swimmer was injured by their own behavior. Swimmers who ignore posted warnings will have a difficult time successfully filing a claim.
If the signs are not conspicuous or are not posted, they may not serve as a strong defense. Posting a sign that warns swimmers of their responsibility for their safety may not be considered a defense if other steps, such as a pool fence with self-latching gates, are not taken to protect swimmers. Swimming injury liability relies heavily on the circumstances of the accident. If there aren’t adequate posted warnings, the pool owner may be at fault. If a swimmer ignores posted warnings and chooses to dive in a posted area, they will most likely be considered responsible for their own injuries. It is possible, however, that a swimmer may be considered responsible for their injuries if they dove in an unposted pool. The pool owner may argue that the swimmer should have known that there was a risk involved in diving.
Assumption of Risk
If you are swimming in a pool where no lifeguard is on duty, it is assumed that you understand the risk of swimming. Posted warnings, such as “swim at your own risk” or “no lifeguard on duty” can also strengthen a property owner’s defense. The age of the plaintiff also is an important factor. A child is not considered responsible for their own injuries, as it is presumed that they do not have the maturity to understand the risks, while an adult may be considered responsible enough to understand the potential danger.
At Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys, our top-rated firm is backed by more than 100 years of collective experience. We can help you recover compensation for your injuries with our proven ability to negotiate and litigate for our clients. We believe each case is unique, so we approach every case with a tailored strategy to give our clients the best chances of success. Our team of San Jose swimming pool accident lawyers is ready to help you.
Contact our firm today! Call (800) 900-0863 for a free case evaluation.
As members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, we have proven our ability to negotiate and litigate on behalf of our clients successfully. Retain us to put our tactical strategies to work for you. These skills are what make our legal team such a formidable opponent in any courtroom or negotiation setting.