Drowning Accident Attorney in Houston

Seeking Peace and Justice for Your Family

No one, not even a strong swimmer, is entirely safe from drowning. Swimming pools are especially dangerous, as are boating accidents. And water poses an even greater risk to children, who love to play in it but can drown in just inches.

A drowning victim’s family must bear the burden of sudden and major expenses, and even someone who survives a near-drowning injury will struggle with medical expenses. A drowning accident attorney can help you and your family understand what happened, who could be responsible, and what your legal options are.

How Do Drowning Cases Happen in Texas?

In Texas, accident cases that arise from drowning deaths or injuries are often due to:

Swimming pool accidents
Boating accidents and personal watercraft accidents
Negligent supervision of children, students, and others in care

Swimming pool accidents can happen to people of all ages. Pools are especially dangerous when diving boards are badly installed or the area has hidden hazards, like defective tiling. But pool areas are particularly dangerous to children.

Why Are Children More Likely to Drown?

Drowning is a major threat to children. It is the leading cause of death for US infants and toddlers. Water fascinates young children, who are willing to play in ponds, drainage ditches, and other places that most adults assume no one would enter. Children with special needs or autism are especially at risk from this fascination.

Worse yet, two inches of water is enough to allow a toddler or infant to drown. Bathtubs, showers, toilets, or even bowls can threaten their lives. Although swift action can save lives, nonfatal drowning accidents may cause brain damage and permanent loss of function.

How Does Legal Action Hold People Accountable?

The grounds for a wrongful death claim or a drowning injury claim will depend on how the accident happened. Accident lawyers often bring drowning cases in the following situations.

Premises Liability: Neglected Pools and Water Features

When someone drowns in a dangerous pool area or other water feature, the property owner or business in charge could be responsible. A drowning victim or their family may be able to bring a premises liability claim against them for their failure to properly maintain the pool or the property.

Under Texas law, the first crucial issue is why the drowning victim was there. Businesses that offer pools, like gyms or hotels, have a duty of care to their customers. When a business knows or should know about a hidden danger in a swimming area, it must fix the problem or place adequate warning signs. Private swimming pool owners must also repair or warn of any concealed dangers they know about. However, Texas property owners may not be responsible for drowning cases that occur in a natural setting, such as a creek or lake. When this happens, the law may prevent recovery or limit the maximum compensation available.

An injured child who trespassed on property, or their bereaved family, may have a claim against a property owner. Most trespassers cannot sue a property owner. But if a child or young teen finds their way onto a property with an open pool, hot tub, or other artificial hazard, that property owner could be held liable. These are called “attractive nuisances,” and the property holder has to secure them from possible child trespassers.

Negligent Supervision: When a Caregiver or Instructor Failed

Teachers, caregivers, and others who supervise children assume the duty of their care. After a drowning accident, they could be held liable for damages for a survivor or for a wrongful death claim.

A surviving student may have a personal injury claim against the caregiver, school, or other parties. Schools or businesses often require customers to sign a waiver of liability before participation, but a parent’s waiver cannot take away a child’s right to relief. Even if the waiver complicates or takes away other claims, the negligent parties could still be held liable for your child’s claim.

Adults also often take water instruction classes and swim excursions. The instructor or tour company may also be legally responsible for drowning accidents involving adults under their care. But this will be more difficult to prove under Texas law, especially when the companies require adults to waive liability or accept limits for personal injury claims.

Injury or Products Liability: Boating Accidents and Collisions

Many Texans love to spend time on boats, but not all of them prepare for the worst. Recent Coast Guard statistics show that drowning killed over half of those who died in Texas recreational boating accidents in a year. Charters, tours, and working boats can also fail their passengers, sometimes when they do not provide enough life jackets or procedures to prevent drowning accidents.

Survivors of a drowning accident or their families may have a personal injury claim against a boat operator or other parties involved, including any manufacturer that sold faulty gear or components.

Should Your Family Seek Compensation?

If you have survived a drowning accident, a drowning accident lawyer can work with you to learn how the accident happened and what kind of relief you may be entitled to. And if you are the parent, spouse, or child of a drowning victim who died, you may be able to bring a wrongful death claim, or else a survival action that maintains their own personal injury claims.

Compensation for a nonfatal drowning injury can cover:

Medical costs, which can include physical rehabilitation, mobility aids, and associated expenses
Lost wages and income, including future earning potential if the victim is disabled or lost function
Non-economic damages: relief for intangible losses like mental anguish, pain, and suffering

Wrongful death claims for damages can include these, as well as compensation for funeral expenses and burial expenses. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the family members may claim their own non-economic damages for the loss of their loved one’s companionship.

How Will Your Attorney Work for You?

Your drowning accident lawyer will need to determine whether you have a claim and ensure the statute of limitations has not run out. For wrongful death or injury claims, most people have two years to sue, but there are exceptions for children and for those who do not have the mental capacity to sue.

Accident attorneys can gather evidence about the incident, the site, and the people involved, using public records and private investigators. But the most valuable evidence is often the photos or recordings that you can provide from the scene. A drowning accident lawyer will review these, along with the medical records and relevant documents, to learn whether you or your family has a case.

Insurance companies investigate accidents for most property owners facing lawsuits. An insurance representative may ask you for a statement, but they are not on your side. Only a law firm with extensive experience in personal injury can help you effectively navigate the legal process.

Your Tough and Caring Legal Counsel in Houston

Please do not let fear and grief take your opportunity to act. Your loved one deserves justice, and you deserve the compensation you need to set your life in order.

Attorney LaToya Jarrett is a tough, honest litigator who combines hard work with compassion. If you are in the Houston area, or if the incident occurred around Houston, please call today at 346-683-2240 to make your appointment for a free consultation.