We take on a lot of claims involving accidents in and around swimming pools. The combination of water and a hard surface can usually lead to people suffering some potentially serious injuries. Fractures are extremely common in these sorts of circumstances.
So if you do have an accident involving a swimming pool, can you claim, and who is responsible?
Generally speaking these claims fall within the realm of the Occupiers Liability Act. This stipulates that the occupier of a premises has an underlying duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent injury from occurring on the premises they are in control of. So if it is a swimming pool in a leisure centre, then the owners of the leisure centre have the responsibility. If it’s in a hotel, then the hotel owners have the responsibility.
Slipping is an obvious hazard. It’s difficult to control this kind of thing given that water is bound to end up on the floor nearby a pool. Normally signs will be deployed to warn people of the danger of slipping and to warn people never to run. Mats could be used between doorways (say between the changing rooms and the pool area) to also help combat the problem. If you slip over in a swimming pool , whether you have a claim or not boils down to whether the owners can prove they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent the accident. To win a claim, we still must prove negligence and breach of law.
Another common scenario is lacerations from damaged tiling in or around the pool. There is an obvious duty on the owner of a pool to regularly inspect and maintain the premises. Tiling cannot be left to break away and leave sharp edges that could easily cut someone whose flesh is exposed in the pool. If this happens to you, you may have a claim dependant on what steps the owner had taken to prevent this kind of thing.
Any claim under the Occupiers Liability Act is not necessarily straightforward. As I said earlier, it’s about proving whether or not someone has taken all reasonable steps to prevent an injury occurring. To win this sort of claim, you need the representation of an expert injury lawyer who is used to fighting tooth and nail for the rights of Claimants to win an award for compensation. We have been dealing with these sorts of cases for years, so call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 for advice today.
