Drowning Accidents Increase During Summer Months in Kentucky

Summer has arrived and pools are opening throughout Kentucky. Unfortunately, tragedy has already struck. A nine-year-old boy drowned in a Louisville swimming pool owned by former NFL player and current high school football coach Will Wolford, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

This is the time of year when reminders about pool safety are essential. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 people die every day from unintentional drowning. It is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. In Kentucky, statistics show that an average of 14 people die from drowning every year, many of them children.

A drowning can happen anywhere, but drowning accidents most frequently occur in residential settings, according to a different Herald-Leader report. Many people also die while swimming in lakes, rivers, oceans and public pools. But it is also important to remember that drowning can happen in less than two inches of water – and that could mean in the bathtub, toilet or a bucket of sea water on the beach.

Supervision is the key to prevention, because drowning happens quietly. A recent Slate article emphasized that drowning does not actually look like what you see in the movies – a person flailing around, arms in the air, screaming for help. Francesco Pia, a former lifeguard who investigates drowning causation and performs accident reconstruction, describes the “Instinctive Drowning Response” as subtle. People can rarely call for help because the body is designed first to breathe, then talk. If breathing is compromised, so is the ability to call for aid.

Similarly, Pia says physiological impulses prevent drowning people from using their arms when they begin to slip underwater. Without rescue, he added that drowning victims can only stay above water for 20 to 60 seconds before submersion.

Staying Safe In the Water

Because drowning can happen so swiftly, it is critical that there is always someone supervising swimming activities, not only among children and adolescents, but with adults as well. Babies and toddlers should always be within arm’s reach of an adult near water and should also be wearing Coast Guard-approved life vests. Arm floats will not save them in an accident.

Here are some other tips to avoid water tragedies:

• Provide barriers around pools. Safety experts recommend a four-sided, 4-foot fence with a latch that opens outward. For above-ground pools, removing the ladder can be one way to prevent accidents.
• Get CPR training.
• Provide life vests for all ages, especially when boating.
• Take swimming lessons. The Red Cross recently said that 54 percent of Americans can’t swim or don’t have basic swimming skills. The agency lists the most critical water skills as being able to step or jump into water over one’s head; capacity to return to the surface and float for one minute; ability to turn in a full circle to find an exit; and ability to swim 25 yards to the nearest exit.
• Don’t drink alcohol if you’re swimming or boating.

Signs of Drowning

People who are drowning can’t talk, so the first step to take if you notice a person who might be in distress is to ask, “Are you OK?” If they don’t answer, hurry to help.

Other signs of drowning include:

• Head low in water, with mouth at water level
• Head tilted back with mouth open
• Unfocused or closed eyes
• Hair over forehead or eyes
• Body position vertical in the water, with no signs of kicking
• Hyperventilating or gasping
• Trying to swim but not getting anywhere
• Attempting to roll over on back
• Appearing to climb an invisible ladder.

Liability in Swimming Pool Accidents

There are different legal avenues that could be explored when a swimming pool accident occurs. It could be that pool equipment was faulty or poorly maintained, or that lifeguards lacked the proper training to prevent a disaster. It could also be that the area around the pool deck was obstructed by toys or other obstacles. No matter what the circumstances, it would be best to speak with a personal injury lawyer or wrongful death attorney who can tell you whether negligence was a contributing factor in the accident.