A 2-year-old girl drown in a Litchfield Park pool earlier this week after her parents lost sight of her for two to five minutes, according to local police. The incident occurred at about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at a family gathering that the girl was attending.
The pool was located in the backyard of the home and was surrounded by a fence but that a gate in the fence had been propped open, allowing access to the water. The family lost sight of the child for only a few minutes and when she was found, she was in the water and unresponsive.
The child was removed from the water and the homeowner performed CPR until paramedics arrived and took the child to an area hospital but despite their efforts, she was later pronounced dead.
The Children’s Safety Zone, an organization that works with Arizona fire departments, hospitals, and media to gather statistics related to water-related incidents and deaths within the state, says that there have been 16 deaths in the state in 2013, five of which were children. Drowning remains the leading cause of death among children ages one to four in Arizona and continues to claim lives annually.
Cities in Arizona often have their own guidelines related to pool safety and they are specific. In Litchfield Park, each pool must be surrounded by a non-climbable fence, wall, or other barrier that is at least five feet high and there cannot be any openings that would allow a round object with a four inch diameter to pass. Importantly, any gates in the fence or wall must be self-closing and self-latching with the latch at least 54 inches from the ground. The purpose of the self-closing and self-latching is to keep the pool area closed at all times to unintended users, like small children. Unfortunately in this case, it appears that a gate was intentionally propped open so that it could not close and therefore there was not a solid barrier between the victim and the water.
A child can drown in as little as a few inches of water and in just moments. Losing sight of a child in the area of a pool can have tragic consequences, as it did in this case and as it has done four times previously this year. Even a small act of negligence can lead to a child drowning.
If your child has been injured or killed while in a public or private swimming pool, you may have a claim for your loss. Though nothing can turn back time to prevent the accident from happening, the Arizona swimming pool injury lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. can help you through the legal process and help hold any responsible people or entities liable in a court of law.
We offer a free telephone consultation so call us today at (855) PHX-LAWYER to find out what rights you have and what remedies may be available to you. Let us fight for you now.
Prior Blog Entries:
Mark Grace, Former Diamondback, Released from Jail after DUI Sentence, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 11, 2013.
Hit-And-Run Driver Kills Pedestrian in Glendale, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 6, 2013.
Resources:
2-year-old girl drowns in Litchfield Park pool, by Jill Monier, Fox 10 News, published June 10, 2013.
Children’s Safety Zone website.