There is no greater tragedy for most parents than losing a child. While warmer weather allows more recreation and fun in pools, swimming pools can also be dangerous. They are especially dangerous for children.
Newsday reported that over the past weekend, a five-year old Farmingville girl, Carissa Walker was found unconscious in a swimming pool during a neighborhood block party. For 17 years the Islip neighborhood has held a block party during the summer, and various households have participated with people going back and forth between the houses. Suffolk police said people attending parties pulled her from the swimming pool, and one person administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, firefighters living on the block quickly came to the house on Columbine Street to try to revive the girl until rescue personnel could arrive. Carissa was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where medical personnel pronounced her death. Police are still investigating the drowning.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning ranks fifth in the nation as a cause of unintentional injury death. Twenty percent of people who die from drowning are children age 14 and younger. For every one child’s drowning death, there are five who receive emergency care for nonfatal injuries. There is a high rate of hospitalization required for drowning victims (50 percent) compared with other unintentional injury victims where only about 6 percent require hospitalization. Serious drowning injury can lead to brain damage that can result in long-term disability, including learning and memory problems and permanent loss of basic functions capability.
When negligence is a factor in causing swimming pool injury or death, you may have legal recourse to recover compensation. Our attorneys at Palermo Tuohy Bruno offer a free consultation to discuss your injury or the death in the family. If we believe you have a case and you wish to take legal action, you owe no fees unless we recover through settlement or verdict.