Florida Pool Drowning Attorney

CPSC Gov, Apr 15, 2008

In recent years, an average of about 250 children under age 5 drowned annually in swimming pools nationwide. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) currently is intensifying its efforts to reduce the rate of child drowning deaths, and deaths and injuries due to entrapments in pool and spa suction outlets. As part of this effort, CPSC is holding a public hearing on swimming pool safety at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Drowning has been a leading cause of death from unintentional injuries to children under 5 years old. To address this, CPSC has set a strategic goal to reduce the rate of drowning of children under age 5 by 10 percent over the next 10 years. Contact our Florida Pool Drowning Attorney if your child has drowned to negligence.

CPSC recently began a major pool drowning prevention information and education campaign, which included a video news release broadcast to television stations across the country to highlight the drowning hazards associated with residential pools. CPSC encourages pool owners to have layers of protection, including at a minimum, a barrier completely surrounding the pool, such as a fence with self-closing and self-latching gates. Additional layers include door alarms, pool safety covers, and pool alarms. Constant supervision of young children also is extremely important.

Legislation that seeks to end hundreds of preventable childhood deaths each year passed the House of Representatives today as part of a larger Energy Bill. The legislation had already passed the Senate, so the legislation goes to the President, who has indicated he will sign the legislation into law.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety in the House of Representatives to combat drowning, the second leading cause of accidental death for children ages one to fourteen years old. The legislation provides incentive grants to states that pass legislation implementing layers of protection to help prevent childhood drowning and establishes an educational outreach program to alert people to the potential dangers posed to children by pools and spas.

The tragedy of hundreds of children dying each year from accidental drowning and four times as many who are near-drowning victims with devastating injuries, is made even more painful by the knowledge that these types of accidents are preventable.

Contact our Florida Pool Drowning Attorney if your child has drowned to negligence.