We see so many more injuries in the summer months as people take out their jet skis and boats and head for the lake. Also, backyard pool accidents and deaths are too often reported.
As a pool owner, you should know all city zoning regulations to protect yourself from liability and others from harm.
For instance, you have a fenced in yard and you’re planning on adding an above-ground pool; will you need a bigger fence? You should check with your city and make sure you’re in compliance with all zoning regulations before you add the pool.
In one case, a child slipped out of the house and managed to get through a hole in the neighbor’s fence. Sadly, the child drowned.
The neighbor was liable because he was not in compliance with city regulations, which state that you must have an operating fence that is locked. The hole in the fence should have been mended. A defect in the property or the fence, in this case, is a liability.
A pool is an attractive nuisance, an open invitation for kids to come in and play. So, if you don’t have a secure, locked fence around your pool, as you’re supposed to, you could be liable for an injury or death.
Some summertime injuries are not associated with leisure activities. What happens if you have a heat stroke while working in the heat? Are you eligible for workers’ compensation?
In one such case, a man cleaning an industrial tank was wearing a heavy, protective suit. He had a heart attack while working. The question is: did the job predispose him to heat stroke or cardiac arrest?
You would need a doctor’s testimony to say that it’s a reasonable degree of medical probability that the heart attack was caused by excess heat specific to his job.
In this case, the judge ruled that the heart attack could have happened anywhere. So workers’ comp did not apply.
The benefits of workers’ comp are that you are entitled to have all of your medical bills paid, and in the case of a death, the family is entitled to certain benefits.
If you have legal questions, please consult our Online Legal Directory to find an attorney in your area.