Pennsylvania Drowning Accident Attorneys

Helping Clients Through Legal Fights Since 1888

For more than 130 years, Metzger Wickersham has been fighting legal battles for our clients in difficult situations, including for people who lost a loved one in a drowning accident. If your family’s future was forever changed by another party’s negligence that led to a drowning accident, let our team stand up for you. We will take your case to heart and pursue justice and compensation as if we were representing ourselves.

Our team can handle drowning accident claims involving drownings at:

• Private swimming pools
• Public swimming pools
• Swimming pools in gyms and athletic centers
• Lakes
• Rivers
• Other locations throughout Pennsylvania

Get more information about filing a drowning accident claim or lawsuit. Call (888) 707-7704 and  request a FREE consultation with our Pennsylvania drowning accident lawyers.

Is a Drowning Accident Case Related to Premises Liability?

Drowning accident cases are typically considered to be premises liability cases because the liable party is often the party that owns or manages the body of water involved in the drowning. For example, if someone drowns in a public swimming pool, the municipality that manages the swimming pool might be liable. Or if a drowning occurs in a private swimming pool, the homeowner could be liable.

Not all drowning accident claims are related to premises liability, though. For example, a company that hosts boating tours on a lake could be liable if a guest suffers a drowning accident on a tour.

Negligence That Contributes to Drowning Accidents

Our Pennsylvania drowning accident attorneys can investigate the circumstances surrounding the drowning accident. We will look for evidence of negligence that contributed to drowning risks or directly caused the incident. Various forms of proof can be useful, like property safety records, eyewitness statements, and so on.

Based on our investigation, we might find that the drowning accident occurred due to a common form of negligence, such as:

• Lack of lifeguards:  Public and commercial swimming pools should keep lifeguards on duty or at least use clear signage that warns swimmers that no lifeguards are there to help in an emergency. If a swimming pool should have had lifeguards or failed to train lifeguards adequately, it could be the foundation of a drowning accident lawsuit.
• Lack of barriers or gates:  Safety barriers and gates should be installed around swimming pools that might be accessed by unattended children to prevent them from accidentally falling into the water.
• Lack of life vests:  On boats, ships, and other water vessels, life vests and life preservers should be readily available for everyone who boards.

Drowning Accidents & Attractive Nuisance Laws in PA

Pennsylvania has an attractive nuisance law that allows property owners to be held liable for injuries suffered by a trespassing child if there was something on the property that enticed the child to trespass. This law often comes up when considering cases in which a child is injured or drowns in a swimming pool that was located in a private backyard but was not secured with a gate or fence. In such a case, the argument can be made that the property owner reasonably should have known that any child nearby might want to see or swim in the pool, putting them at risk of a drowning accident, so the property owner should have been proactive about fencing off the pool.

The three most important details in an attractive nuisance-related drowning accident claim are:

1. The injured party was a child or minor.
2. The property owner reasonably should have known that a child would be enticed to enter their property.
3. The property owner did not take reasonable steps to secure their property or the swimming pool.

What is a Near-Drowning Accident?

Drowning is not always fatal. It is possible for someone to respirate or inhale water and drown without passing away. When this happens, it is called “near-drowning,” and it is still extremely dangerous. Anyone who has suffered a near-drowning accident should receive emergency medical care.

Did you suffer a near-drowning accident in Pennsylvania? Our attorneys can help you file an injury claim, which will pursue slightly different damages than a drowning accident claim filed after a loved one fatally drowned.

Call Today to Request a Free Case Evaluation

Metzger Wickersham and our Pennsylvania drowning accident attorneys offer no-cost consultations to potential clients. If you want to know about your legal rights and options after someone in your family suffered a drowning accident on someone else’s property, we want to hear from you. We take pride in using our legal talents and knowledge to help people through difficult times while pursuing fair compensation and justice in their names.

Work with a team that genuinely cares about your well-being. Call (888) 707-7704 now.