R. Clay Milling Personal Injury Law Blog on Lawyers.com

3 Year Old Girl Caught in Florida Pool Drain Illustrates Danger

Monday, August 24, 2009 by R. Clay Milling

Photo of R. Clay Milling

Today, a 3 year old girl was rescued after her arm was caught in a pool drain.  The incident happened at a condominium complex in Key Biscayne, Florida.   

The young girl’s mother was watching poolside as more than a dozen rescue workers were forced to cut through concrete and a pipe to free the child.  Video footage shows a portion of the pipe still attached to the child’s arm as she was placed on a stretcher and taken by helicopter to the hospital.  The extent of her personal injuries are still unknown.

Unfortunately, this appears to be another example of an unsafe swimming pool.  Statistics suggest that more than 300 drowning incidents occur each year for children under the age of 5.  That number does not include cases where a child suffers permanent injuries such as brain damage or loss of a limb.  This is a true tragedy, especially considering that devices such as a second anti-entrapment systems can help prevent if not eliminate severe injuries or wrongful death caused by unsafe pool drains and skimmers.

 In December of 2008, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act went into effect.  (Virginia Graeme Baker was a beautiful 7 year old girl killed by a suction drain at the bottom of a hot tub.)  The law’s goals are in part to reduce the number of swimming pool entrapment injuries and deaths.  It’s too early to tell the impact this law will have on the staggering number of incidents such as the one today in Florida.   

However, until such time as every hotel, resort, condominium, school or other public pool takes every step to ensure the safety of our children, Henry Spiegel Milling, LLP will continue to work on behalf of those affected by these avoidable tragedies. 

Henry Spiegel Milling is an Atlanta based law firm that represents severely injured children and adults.  We can be contacted at 1-866-959-3877, or www.georgiawrongfuldeathlaw.com.   

 
Posted at 17:09 PM
Topic: Personal Injury
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