Personal Injury Claim After a Swimming Pool Accident in San Antonio

The best San Antonio summer days usually involve a pool, unless that pool causes someone to get hurt. Swimming pool accidents pose many legal complications. Cases will likely involve premises liability rules, which are important to understand if you want the most from your swimming pool accident claim. If you or a loved one has been involved in a swimming pool accident, pursuing your damages is best left to a San Antonio accident lawyer. At Carabin Shaw, we have decades of experience working cases just like yours, and our firm is built on caring for and listening to every client that walks through our doors. If you are filing a personal injury claim after a swimming pool accident in San Antonio, it’s important to know the laws that typically apply to a case like yours.

Knowing who is liable usually comes down to one question for your attorney: did the accident occur in a public or private pool?

• Private pool - These pools are maintained by the owner of the premises and are located on private property. For private pool cases, the lawsuit is usually filed against the owner of the property. If that owner has insurance that covers swimming pool accidents, the suit would be filed against their insurance company. Premises liability laws usually apply to private pool cases (explained later). If your accident occurred in a private pool, talk to a San Antonio personal injury lawyer.
• Public pool - Public pools are located on public property and maintained by local government entities. In many instances, a swimming pool accident claim involving a public pool would claim negligent supervision caused the accident because the lifeguard on duty was not paying attention. Accident cases involving public pools are more complex than private pool cases because your lawyer would be filing against a public entity. To learn more about the complications of a public pool accident case, consult a San Antonio accident lawyer.

In San Antonio, like the rest of Texas, premises liability rules usually apply. Premises liability is a legal term used to describe the set of laws that applies to cases where someone is liable for an accident that occurred on private property. Essentially, premises liability states that the owner of the property has a duty to keep the pool reasonably safe. The duty owed varies based on three different classifications of “entrants”:

1. Licensee - A licensee is someone the owner has given consent to to be on the property, and the licensee is there for their own enjoyment (a guest, for instance). The owner has a duty to warn the licensee of any dangerous conditions on the property.
2. Invitee - Invitees have consent to be on the property and are there for the mutual benefit of the invitee and the owner (a repairman, for example). Similarly to a licensee, the owner has a duty to warn them of dangerous conditions.
3. Trespasser - Lastly, a trespasser is someone who enters the property without the owner’s consent. The owner’s only obligation to a trespasser is to not wilfully cause harm.

As you can see, a personal injury claim after a swimming pool accident in San Antonio can be complicated. Talk to a San Antonio personal injury lawyer to understand how premises liability laws may apply to your case.

You want maximum compensation after a swimming pool accident. You deserve it. Without an attorney, though, the chances of getting all that you’re owed are slim to none. Our experienced staff at Carabin Shaw wants to help you, and we will do all that we can to get you justice. What a San Antonio accident lawyer offers is not just legal advice, but also peace of mind for you and your family. Call us today. A lawyer on our staff is ready to listen to the unique circumstances of your case. Call 210-222-2288.