In Connecticut, some people are lucky enough to have indoor pools. However, if you have an outdoor facility, then pool safety is not a year-round concern for you.
However, it is important to keep all of your property safe for any guests you might have. This is true any time of year — especially when you are starting to get your pool ready for the summer.
Preventing poolside tragedies
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has a few great tips to keep everyone safe around the pool, reducing the risk of preventable injury or death. Here are a few of them:
- Keep an eye on kids in the water
- Learn CPR, or make sure somebody knows it
- Practice good drain safety with appropriate covers and education
- Confirm people know how to swim before they get in the pool
- Consider installing barriers, covers and alarm systems
In short, your ability to keep people safe around the pool depends on a combination of education and safety equipment. Remember that it is more than just a recreational area. It is also a potential hazard that you, as an owner, have a duty to keep reasonably safe. You might want to check the condition of your drains, covers, barriers and alarm system before that first pool party.
Pool injuries and the law
Part of the responsibility for staying safe could fall to pool-goers, but owners also have some duties. Just like most other parts of your property, you might be liable if people suffer injuries in your pool.
The law in this area is complex. The court might not expect you to prevent intoxicated people from injuring themselves, but it might be a problem if you knowingly allowed them to enter a pool with dangerous or uncovered drains, for example.
Whether it is from a fall, drowning or other pool tragedy, the validity of a personal injury claim would depend on the precise situation. In the long run, pool safety is just a good idea for everybody.