Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.
Drowning accidents are among the most devastating and preventable tragedies in Washington, DC. A drowning can happen to anyone at any time. Whether they occur at a private pool, public recreation center, hotel, apartment complex, or even a boating facility in DC, negligence can lead to drowning and death. However, just because there is a drowning does not mean the venue is responsible for the injuries. At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., our DC drowning lawyers represent victims and their families in holding negligent parties accountable. A key element of this is proving that the venue did something wrong, and that their breach of conduct was the legal cause of the injury arising out of the drowning. Our office has practiced personal injury law in DC for over 70 years.
We have made countless claims against property owners, businesses, and private residences who fail to keep their premises reasonably safe. Moreover, the law in DC is unique. While the contributory negligence defense exists, it may be superseded by the attractive nuisance doctrine, which we discuss below. When you consider a drowning injury or death, you may think of negligent lifeguards, a lack of supervision at a child’s birthday party, or a failure to warn of hazards. But what about trespassers? You may be surprised to learn that even a child who is trespassing and drowns in a DC pool may have a claim. Led by Roger Gelb, our legal team has handled several complex premises liability cases.
Call our office today for a free case evaluation at DC pool drowning lawyer (202) 331-7227 for more information.
Not all drowning injuries result in death. But that does not mean it is not worth pursuing. Did your drowning injury result in a trip to the hospital? Survivors may suffer from severe brain damage, memory loss, cognitive deficits, or permanent physical disability due to oxygen deprivation. These injuries often require extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care. When this happens, you can be on the hook for exorbitant hospital bills. It is unreasonable for you to have to pay those bills as a parent if it is your young child who drowned due to the negligence of a third party. Moreover, you or your child may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. This can affect someone for years after the fact and permanently impact your life.
Meanwhile, in a fatal drowning, a family may pursue a wrongful death claim under the DC wrongful death statute (Chapter 27 § 16-2701). But not only that, the decedent’s estate can file a survival action under the DC Statute (§ 12-101). These are two separate claims, but are often brought as part of one trial. In general, the wrongful death claim can only be brought by a close family member who relies financially on the decedent. Meanwhile, the survival of rights of action enables the estate to recover for personal injuries that which the decedent would have been able to recover if they survived, including the value of their life. Of course, valuing one’s life is nearly impossible. However, we can still consider the pain and suffering from just before the death, medical expenses incurred before the death, funeral and burial costs, property damage, and more.
For children under the age of five, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death. This makes determining who may be liable in your drowning case vital.
Generally, we want to pursue damages arising out of a drowning incident against a defendant who has the means to compensate you for your financial and physical injuries. This is yet another place where a drowning lawyer in DC can assist. Below, we examine four of the most common defendants in drowning accident cases.
The Pool Without Penalties Act of 2018 (§ 22-147) governs the laws regarding pool operation for apartments, condos, cooperatives, hotels, and motels when usage is limited to residents and guests. These are known as Class C, semi-public pools. If the hotel also sells passes to the public, it does not fall under this Act. In this context, guests refer to the guests of residents. If this Act does apply to the pool where a drowning incident occurs, it is important to note a few rules. First, lifeguards are not mandatory at these pools. However, if the pool has a diving board, has a depth deeper than five feet, or has 50% or more users under the age of 15, then lifeguards are mandatory irrespective of the first part of this rule.
If there is no lifeguard on duty when you or someone you know drowns, there may be legal negligence. However, this claim is not as simple as it may seem. We still need to prove that the lack of a lifeguard is the proximate cause of the drowning. This means that there is no claim if there is nothing a lifeguard would have been able to do to prevent the drowning. Naturally, this is taken on a case-by-case basis, and you should consult with an attorney for the best understanding of this matter. Moreover, while the following rarely directly relates to a drowning incident, our office does get several calls on these topics. Accordingly, we answer the following commonly asked questions below.
Co-ops, condos, and apartments do not need to:
At a public pool in Washington, DC, strict rules are designed to protect the general public from the need for a pool liability law firm. Unfortunately, while the rules and regulations are generally sound, they are sometimes negligently enforced, leading to drastic consequences.
Among the most common causes of action in this instance is the required administration of a swim test to use the pool’s deep end. On the site, the rules on whether it is mandatory are unclear. In one section, they rule that it is up to the lifeguard’s behest. In a later section titled “Pool Rules”, the rules state that one must pass the DPR “Deep-water Test” to use the deep end. However, if your child clearly should have been unable to use the deep end and did so anyway, we can argue that no reasonably prudent lifeguard should have allowed your child to swim in the deep section.
This is not an all-encompassing list. Rather, we list 10 of the most pertinent rules relating to personal injury claims in the District.
A swim instructor is less likely to happen, but one that is easier to prove if it does. Although, litigating this case is still expensive, as it would require expert witness testimony to speak to how a swim instructor should coach a student swimmer. When you entrust someone to watch over your child, or even yourself, you expect a high level of skill from your instructor. Accordingly, the law imposes a high degree of care on the instructor or event organizer. If the swim instructor fails to adequately supervise a student, they may be liable for any injuries. One factor that makes this claim especially strong is that the instructor already knows the student is a weak swimmer. That is the basis of why they were hired. While there are some instances where an instructor can do nothing, these are few and far between.
In the majority of cases, a drowning injury is preventable if appropriate actions are taken. Contact a DC pool drowning lawyer today to understand your options.
A claim against a property owner is among our most common calls. But of these four categories, a claim against a homeowner can be the most complex. First, if your child trespasses into someone’s backyard, swims, and drowns, that child may have a claim. Generally, this depends on whether there is a fence around the pool at the time of the drowning. Under this doctrine, a homeowner can be sued even if they are unaware their pool is being used and are not even at home at the time of the drowning.
Unfortunately, about 1,500 people die each year due to drowning. This is an alarming statistic. Of course, homeowners are not always to blame. The law in DC does not require perfection. Instead, a homeowner must act reasonably under the circumstances. That means you should warn guests of known hazards. However, you do not necessarily have an obligation to seek out hazards that you do not know about. If you are aware of a hazardous condition in your pool, you should either warn others or rectify the hazard. If you fail to do so and a guest, or even a trespasser, drowns, you may be liable. When this happens, your homeowner’s insurance may cover you for any loss.
The attractive nuisance doctrine does not apply in every state or jurisdiction, but it does apply in Washington, D.C. This is an interesting aspect of common law torts. This doctrine recognizes that, in this context, pools are particularly attractive to children and pose a risk to their safety. Founding Partner Joseph Gelb played a key role in establishing the attractive nuisance doctrine in Washington, D.C., through the appellate case McGettigan v. National Bank of Washington.
Courts understand that children may disregard rules if it means having fun. Thus, the attractive nuisance doctrine imposes a civil duty on homeowners to treat a child as an invitee, even if the child is trespassing on their property. You must exercise reasonable care to eliminate potential dangers or provide adequate warning. Of course, adequate warning is relative. Is a sign saying no trespassers going to be enough to absolve a homeowner of liability? Probably not.
The Restatement (Second) of Torts outlines the circumstances under which a possessor of land is subject to liability.
Thus, as a homeowner, the best thing you can do is to put a fence around your pool. This generally absolves you of liability so long as the fence is sufficiently high, free of defects, and otherwise up to code.
Almost 40 million adults (15.4%) in the United States do not know how to swim, and over half (54.7%) have never taken a swimming lesson. Thus, we can infer that while roughly 85% can swim, many of them do not swim well. However, drowning is not always your fault. At a pool, supervision is not just recommended, it is often a legal duty. As personal injury lawyers evaluating the viability of a claim against the property owner, we consider whether there was supervision at all, whether someone properly trained was watching the child consistently, enforcing safety rules, and removing hazards that could lead to injury. If any of these things are not done properly, and that failure is the proximate cause of a drowning, we may be able to move forward with a case.
If you entrust your child to a parent, do you have a claim against the parent for negligent supervision? You may, though, recovering against an individual without insurance, which can be tricky. Another common scenario is when a homeowner hosts a pool party but fails to monitor children. It is somewhat understandable for a host to get caught up in conversation while the children play downstairs. However, this can lead to a negligence claim under the homeowner’s policy. Of course, the person supervising does not need to be perfect. Just because a drowning occurs under their watch does not necessarily mean we have a claim. We must consider the totality of the circumstances.
Thus, it is crucial to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney at Gelb & Gelb to best understand your options as they relate to your case.
While drowning is the most serious danger at a pool, it is far from the only one. Homeowners, property managers, and commercial pool operators all have a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to address known risks promptly. Below, we discuss other common reasons you may wish to contact a pool liability lawyer.
Pool decks are almost always wet. This is a given. When you walk onto a pool deck, you may be surprised if it is not wet. Thus, you, as a patron, have a legal obligation to behave reasonably under the circumstances. This means that you should already know that the pool deck is wet. If you slip and fall on a pool deck, defense counsel for the property owner will raise at trial that you are contributorily negligent. Unfortunately, this is a total bar to recovery in Washington, DC. This means you cannot make a recovery because you contributed, at least in part, to causing your own injury, because you did not take into account that the ground was wet.
Furthermore, a property owner does not have a legal obligation to fix or warn of obvious hazards. This is a critical element of negligence law relating to slip and falls. One can convincingly argue that a pool deck is obviously wet. Therefore, they have no legal obligation to warn or rectify. However, there are a couple of exceptions we can carve out. If you are running on a pool deck and there is no sign prohibiting running, your chance of recovery increases slightly. However, you are ultimately still at fault in DC, at least in part, for your injury. A second exception applies when you have a crack in the surface and are using a wheelchair, crutches, or another assistive device, making movement difficult.
Pools have several mechanical components that enable them to run smoothly. A few of these components include pumps, filters, lights, ladders, diving boards, and drains. If one of these malfunctions occurs, the property owner may be responsible. Of course, the legal duty for the property owner depends on the type of property owner they are. For example, if it is a private homeowner, they only have an obligation to warn or fix non-obvious hazards that they are aware of. This requires that we prove, with evidence, that they were aware of the hazard before you were injured and failed to act accordingly. Without convincing evidence, this can be challenging. Meanwhile, a business, apartment, or public pool has an obligation to inspect its equipment on a reasonable basis and maintain it.
While a property owner, such as an apartment building, is not automatically responsible for a broken ladder or handrail, if we can demonstrate that they either knew or should have known of the hazard, you may have a claim. Keep in mind, it is possible that another patron had broken the ladder just before you. When this happens, the law gives the property owner a reasonable grace period to notice the issue and rectify it. Thus, they are not expected to act immediately. Having said that, below is a list of potential causes of action in a personal injury case:
Moving away from other common scenarios at a pool and back to drowning accidents, below is an order of what to do after a drowning incident. Please note that the steps you should take may vary depending on the situation.
A personal injury attorney at Gelb & Gelb can help you obtain maximum compensation for your injury or the loss of your family member. Call our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227.
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.