Whenever a child dies, it is a gut wrenching, terrible tragedy. But when a child drowns to death in a pool, it makes the tragedy even more difficult because the death is usually preventable. In many cases, the catastrophic event could have been avoided if not for the negligence of another person or company.

Clark County has compiled statistics of drownings and related data over the last ten years. When looking at drownings and near drownings for Clark County children 14 and under in 2009 (the latest year for which data was available),

The number of fatal drownings was more than double the total recorded just five years earlier.
77% of them happened in residential pools.
90% of the fatal drownings involved children less than five years of age.

If a child drowns in a backyard swimming pool, the homeowner could be sued for wrongful death depending on the circumstances. Sometimes, parents let their kids swim at a neighbor’s pool with the understanding that they will be supervised. But this is often not the case – and it only takes about five minutes for a child to drown.

There have also been numerous stories of a child wandering into a pool and drowning. If the pool (be it residential or municipal) does not have barriers which are designed to keep young children out, then the pool owners or operators might be found liable in a wrongful death lawsuit.

A qualified child wrongful death attorney can probably answer your questions relating to child drownings and pool owners’ liability.