Swimming Pool Liability | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

In this video, John Philp from Preszler Injury Lawyers discusses the responsibilities of homeowners regarding swimming pool injuries. He emphasizes that homeowners bear the ultimate responsibility if someone is injured in their pool, which can have significant emotional and financial repercussions. Philp highlights the importance of adequate insurance coverage, including the benefits of an umbrella policy that can provide up to five million dollars in coverage for pool-related injuries. He also outlines the necessity for homeowners to take reasonable safety precautions, such as clear signage, to mitigate risks. Additionally, he notes that circumstances surrounding an injury, such as intoxication, can influence liability. For more information, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE.

Thank you, Liam. Well, as you just heard, we're in the dog days of summer, and with this heat wave, a lot of people are diving into their swimming pools to cool off. But who is responsible if someone gets injured swimming in your backyard pool? John Philp with Preszler Injury Lawyers is here to talk about that. Good morning, and thanks for having me again.

We were just chatting, and I said I love swimming, but pools make me nervous. When it's your own pool in your own backyard, it just seems like it opens up the possibility for a lot of trouble potentially. This is a great topic, and inevitably, a couple of times each summer, we get phone calls at our office from people seriously injured because of a pool mishap in their backyard.

As a homeowner, you are the one who has the ultimate responsibility if someone is injured in your swimming pool. That can be devastating emotionally, but also financially. If you don't have enough insurance to cover this type of injury, you're looking at some pretty serious consequences for yourself and your family.

Since you mentioned insurance, let's talk about that for a second and the way that you can get quite a sizable amount of coverage for not too much money. Typically, what we see with swimming pool injuries is that they usually involve a spinal cord injury. For example, a person might dive into the pool not expecting it to be a certain depth and misjudge it. Neck and back injuries are very common, which can result in someone becoming a paraplegic or a quadriplegic. These types of claims are very serious, and usually, people have about a million dollars in place for their home insurance for that type of injury. However, it’s going to go beyond that million-dollar policy limit very quickly.

So typically, insurance companies don't really like you to know this, but there's a little secret I’m going to share with you. It's called an umbrella policy. If you have your homeowners insurance and your auto insurance with the same company, you can approach your broker and say, "Look, I’d like to get an umbrella policy," which means that you can get up to about five million dollars in coverage for both your vehicle and your home. Five million dollars goes a lot farther than a million dollars in these types of injury claims involving swimming pools.

So, are you on the hook regardless of the circumstances if it happens in your pool on your property? Well, no. We've talked about this many times before, and it always depends on the circumstances for a personal injury case. But as a homeowner, you have to take certain precautions to make sure that your pool is safe. For example, if it's a shallow pool, you have to put up signs that say "No Diving." That has to be very clear. Having one sign behind a potted plant that says "No Diving" is not going to be sufficient if someone injures themselves diving into your shallow pool. You have to take reasonable steps in the circumstances.

The same law that we've discussed in previous situations, the Occupiers Liability Act, is also applicable here. It requires that homeowners take reasonable steps in the circumstances to ensure the safety of people attending their property.

Right, and let’s say you have teenage kids, and you’re not home. They have a party, and someone gets hurt in the pool while you’re not even there. The same rules apply if you've put up signs and taken precautions. Absolutely. You know, alcohol is often a factor in these sorts of circumstances, and that can factor into who is at fault for the accident. For example, if someone is very intoxicated and goes swimming in your pool and injures themselves, they will have a certain degree of responsibility for their own injuries. But again, as the homeowner, you’re also likely to share in that responsibility as well.

All right, John Philp from Preszler Injury Lawyers, thanks again. Good to see you.

It's a pleasure. We're going to take a look at traffic now. Here's Kim.