Drownings and near drownings can leave families and injured victims with lifelong scars, both physical and emotional. If you were affected by such an accident, an attorney can help you get compensation.
Drowning accidents often happen at the beach or a pool, but they can also happen almost anywhere there is water. A small child might drown while unattended in a bathtub, or someone could drown in a hot tub or jacuzzi. If you or a loved one suffered a drowning accident, you might have several legal options. If your loved one passed away, you might have a wrongful death claim. If they survived and suffered injuries, they can pursue a personal injury lawsuit. The person liable might be the person who owned the property where the accident happened or someone charged with preventing the accident, like a negligent caregiver or pool staff.
While mouth-to-mouth or CPR can help, it is not a foolproof method, and not everyone is saved. Our Long Island drowning accident lawyers can bring the person responsible for the drowning to justice. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493 for a free case assessment.
How Drowning Accidents Happen on Long Island
Drowning accidents can happen almost anywhere there is water. Where your drowning accident happened is important because it may help our Long Island drowning accident lawyers determine who should be held liable and what kind of legal action to pursue.
Swimmers must be careful at the beach because riptides may pull them too far out into the ocean, where they cannot swim back to shore. Strong waves might knock a swimmer underwater and prevent them from resurfacing. Depending on the beach, lifeguards might be on duty and should do their best to prevent drownings.
Pools are also high-risk areas for drownings. While there are no waves or strong currents, drownings are still possible. Someone who is not a strong swimmer might drown if they wander too far from the shallow end. A drowning might also happen if someone hits their head in the pool, such as by swimming headfirst into the wall while swimming laps.
Even bathtubs are a serious drowning risk for young children. If a child was left unattended in the bath, they might fall over and drown if they cannot lift themselves back up. Hot tubs are also dangerous, and people might drown if they fall asleep in the relaxing hot water.
There are many other ways drowning accidents happen than those listed here. If you have been affected by a drowning incident, contact our Long Island drowning accident attorneys for help immediately.
Beginning Legal Action After a Long Island Drowning Accident
Lawsuits for drownings accidents are somewhat unpredictable because you can take several different approaches. If your loved one passed away after a drowning accident, you might have a wrongful death case on your hands. If they survived, our Long Island drowning accident attorneys can file a personal injury lawsuit for their injuries.
Determining who is liable is also tricky. For example, public beaches are sometimes manned by lifeguards while others are not, making it hard to determine who is liable. Alternatively, if the drowning accident happened on private property, like someone’s pool or a private swim club, the owner of the property or club might be liable.
Who is Liable?
Premises liability is an area of law where property owners can be held responsible for accidents that happen because of unsafe conditions on theory property. For example, if your family was invited to use your neighbor’s pool and your loved one drowned, your neighbor might be liable because they owned the property. We would need to prove that your neighbor did not properly maintain the pool, and that the drowning happened because of the unsafe conditions.
Someone put in charge of the pool, like lifeguards, could instead be liable. Lifeguards are charged with keeping the pool safe, preventing people from drowning, and rescuing someone if a drowning occurs. If lifeguards were negligent and failed to stop a drowning accident, they can be held liable.
The lifeguards’ employer can also be held liable through a theory of vicarious liability. Under this legal theory, employers may be held liable for employees’ negligence if that negligence was within the scope of the employee’s job duties. This means whoever hired the lifeguards may also be sued for damages.
What Kind of Lawsuit to File
If your loved one passed away in a drowning accident, we can help you file a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death cases are unique because you can claim your losses related to the accident in addition to the personal injuries and losses incurred by the deceased person before they passed away.
Typically, a personal representative of the deceased person’s estate must file the lawsuit, and the damages related specifically to the deceased person’s injuries are paid to the estate. Your damages and losses, such as loss of services provided by the deceased person and the loss of companionship, are paid to you.
If the drowning victim survived the accident, they can file a personal injury lawsuit. Many drowning victims suffer serious brain damage from a lack of oxygen and may need assistance filing a lawsuit. Our Long Island drowning accident attorneys can help you and your loved one get justice for the pain you have endured.
Damages Available in Drowning Cases on Long Island
The recoverable damage in your case depends on what kind of injuries the drowning victim sustained and whether they survived the accident. In a wrongful death case, you can claim all the damages the deceased person could have claimed had they survived. So, damages like the deceased person’s medical bills related to the accident are on the table.
You can also claim damages related to your losses. If the deceased person provided you with financial support, caregiving services, or contributed income to the household, you can claim those losses. You can also claim the loss of your relationship, like love and companionship. Our Long Island drowning accident lawyers can help you determine what damages you can claim.
In a personal injury lawsuit for a drowning accident, you can also claim medical bills for injuries. People who survive drowning accidents may have severe brain damage that leaves them permanently disabled. This often means they cannot continue working, so they lose income. They also deal with severe emotional trauma from the accident that deserves compensation.
Call Our Long Island Drowning Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered a drowning or near-drowning accident, you might be going through a painful time while dealing with numerous expenses. Our Long Island drowning accident lawyers can help you. For a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493.