Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Today's Syracuse Post Standard reported on a study published in the journal Pediatrics concluding that, in the U.S.A., a child dies in a portable pool every 5 days during the summer months. Ninety four percent of the victims are under 5.

Drowning is the second-leading cause of death among young children. (The first is car accidents). But why so many deaths in these cheap, shallow pools?

I can think of three:

First, there are so many of those portable pools. Almost anyone can afford them. They sell like hotcakes this time of year in Walmarts, malls and other stores. With so many around, it is not surprising that at least some of them would become death traps.

Second, many parents blindly purchase these pools with no awareness of the dangers, especially to small children and toddlers. They don't look dangerous at all --- they look fun, and they are, too. The parents purchasing these pools are not required to take a safety course, or watch a safety video first. (Maybe they should be?).

And third, many of the safety mechanisms prevalent with in-ground pools, such as fencing, safety covers, and pool alarms, are not available, or affordable, to the purchasers of smaller, cheaper pools.

But the real cause of most childhood drownings is lack of adult supervision. Never, ever leave a child who is not a competent swimmer unsupervised anywhere near a pool. And if you are supervising, don't get distracted in conversations, books, electronic devices or anything. Especially with very small children, you must watch with undivided attention. Drowning is usually silent, so don't expect to hear screams for help. You might just read or talk your way through your child's death-by-drowning. Drowning is fast - it only takes a minute or so with small children. That's just a couple of pages of your book, or a little tidbit of gossip from your neighbor across the fence.

Since I'm a New York personal injury lawyer, let me tell you a little about pool liability. If you own any kind of pool, even a plastic kiddy pool, and a neighbor's child makes his way to your property, falls or jumps in, and drowns, you can be held liable. Children are naturally attracted to pools and water. You have to guard the pool when you are not there to watch it. With smaller pools, just empty the water. With larger ones, cover, fence, and lock them.

And always, always supervise your neighbors' kids when they are visiting and the pool is accessible.

Don't be a fool with a pool.

Keep safe!

Mike Bersani

Email me at: bersani@michaels-smolak.com I'd love to hear from you!

Michael G. Bersani, Esq.
michaels-smolak.com
Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer
Michaels & Smolak, P.C.

1-315-253-3293 Toll Free 1-866-698-8169

Swimming pool season is almost here, which means lots of fun and relaxation for many New Yorkers who will finally get to "take in some rays" on the pool deck after an especially long, cold and snowy winter.

But today I had a grisly reminder of the dangers that lurk in pool areas. Two toddlers were pulled from a swimming pool at a Buffalo home on Easter Sunday. One of the boys, only 2 years old, somehow got under the pool's solar cover. He was unresponsive when they pulled him from the water and is now in critical condition at Woman and Children's Hospital. The other boy fared better --- he was found on top of the pool cover and is in good condition. The boys were at a family Easter gathering at the home. Let's hope and pray that the boy in critical condition makes a miraculous, full recovery.

As a parent, reading news stories like this one reminds me of all the nightmares I have ever had about something terrible befalling one of my children because, perhaps for only a second, I was distracted. I once I lost a 3-year old in Kennedy Airport! Fortunately, I found him after what seemed like an eternity, but probably was more like 2 minutes.

For some unfortunate parents, my nightmares are their realities. Last year I blogged about a New York wrongful death case I handled involving a three-year old toddler struck and killed by a car after he had wandered off from his father, who was distracted with an even smaller child.

Let's face it; the world is a dangerous place, but especially for toddlers, and pool areas are right up at the top of the most-dangerous-place-for-toddler list.

Keep that in mind parents.

Mike Bersani

Email me at: bersani@michaels-smolak.com I'd love to hear from you!

Michael G. Bersani, Esq.
michaels-smolak.com
Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer
Michaels & Smolak, P.C.

1-315-253-3293 Toll Free 1-866-698-8169

Last week, on September 28, tragedy struck in Oswego. One fishermen died, another is in critical condition, and several others narrowly escaped death. The men were fishing near the Varick damn in the Oswego River in the City of Oswego.

Several dams, used to hold back water to generate electrical power, cross the Oswego River. The lower section of the river, where it empties into harbor, also offers great fishing. When the water is to be released, which causes a sudden rise in the river, a loud siren is supposed to sound to warn the fishers.

But did it sound? And did it sound at the right time?

One of the fishermen who escaped harm was quoted as saying, "there was no siren discernable in relation to we ought to get out of there . . . There were sounds earlier, 45 minutes or an hour earlier - there was nothing in line with the water rising."

Toronto-based Brookfield Renewable Power Inc. operates the plant at the dam, and releases the water. A company spokesman says it has initiated an internal investigation focusing on, "when did [the siren] go off, how long did it go off and how many times did it go off."

That's surely the same questions the victims' NY personal injury lawyer, Jim Reed (Elmira, NY), will be asking.

The City of Oswego will hold a public meeting Wednesday evening 6 at the EconoLodge to discuss ways to improve safety for fishers on the Oswego River.

We hope Jim can get to the bottom of this and win justice for his clients, if in fact Brookfield Renewable Power acted irresponsibly, negligently or otherwise failed in its important duty to warn fishermen of rapidly rising waters. Jim is a fine New York personal injury lawyer, and I am sure he will represent his clients with zeal and dedication.

This photograph was taken at the Geneva, New York YMCA swimming pool last Friday, June 18. That big kid in the middle who looks a lot older than the others is me. The occasion was the last Friday evening swim outing of the school year for the Boys & Girls Club kids of Geneva. Every Friday after work during the spring months I take about 11 of them with me in a van to the YMCA pool where I teach them how to swim and to safely enjoy the water. Most of them have never been in the water before they came with me. Some of them stay with me for several years.

Why do I do it? Lots of reasons, really. Giving back to the community. Really caring about children (I have five myself!). Paying back a debt I owe to the world for being so damn lucky in life. But here's another reason: To save lives.

You see, drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children. And one demographic in particularly at risk. Which one? Take another look at the photo. Yes, mostly African American kids. As discussed in a recent ABC news report, black children drown at three times the rate of white children. This is because while 60% of white children can swim, only 30% of black kids can.

As a Syracuse and Geneva New York area personal injury attorney, I also handle New York child drowning cases. These cases just drive me crazy, because the harm is so preventable! Usually the accidental drowning claim is brought against whoever was in charge of supervising the child that drown, or against the pool owner for not providing a secure, safe pool. Research shows that proper use and installation of barriers or fencing, as well as additional layers of protection, can prevent child swimming pool drownings.

But there is a layer of security that goes beyond proper supervision and proper pool safety. I am talking about teaching kids to swim. It's very simple, really: Kids who can swim usually don't drown, and kids that can't, often do, So in my little corner of the world, in Geneva, New York, I am helping kids, mostly black kids, learn how to swim away from those disturbing statistics.

Yesterday, as I have done just about every Wednesday this winter (and for the past few winters), I took a van full of Boys & Girls Club kids to the Geneva, New York municipal ice rink for a skate. I pick them up at the Boys & Girls Club of Geneva at 6:30, we skate till 8:15, and then I drive them home. I finish up about 9:00. I can pack about 11 kids in the large van. The kids, ages 5 through about 11, love it. These are kids who otherwise would never get a chance to skate. Most of them don't have transportation to the rink. When Spring comes along, I take the same kids to the YMCA swimming pool. Otherwise, they wouldn't learn to swim.

Here's my law blog question for the day: What is my liability exposure as a volunteer? Does the law cut me any slack for being a good guy, or am I just as liable as anyone else if I accidently crash the van, or fail to properly supervise the kids, and cause them to get injured? If some of these kids and their parents were to bring a New York personal injury lawsuit against me for negligent driving or negligent supervision, what would happen to me?

I hate to admit it, but I am exposing myself to a lawsuit. The law in New York cuts me no slack at all. If I voluntarily agree to take these kids out and I negligently allow harm to befall them, their personal injury lawsuits against me will be valid. The fact that I was trying to give these kids a better life won't count for squat!

So how do I protect myself? Two ways: First, I try to be very careful. I drive carefully, and when I am with them on the ice or at the pool, I try to watch them carefully. Second, I buy lots of insurance, just in case.

Sometimes it can be scary, though. On the trip home, some of the kids can get a little rowdy. I am never 100% sure they are keeping their seat belts on. And when I drop them off at their home, I insist on watching them actually get inside there homes before I drive off because many of them live in "iffy" neighborhoods.

The scariest thing that happened was two years ago. A 6 year-old girl, named Jacqui, who had never swum before, jumped right into the deep end of the pool. She then began flailing around, going under, and taking in water. One of the life guards was able to pull her out. When she finally spit out enough water, and calmed down enough for me to talk to her, I asked her, "Jacqui, why did you jump into the deep end if you did not know how to swim"? Her answer: "But Mr. Bersani, you don't understand, I thought I DID know how to swim. I was so excited about going swimming for my first time that I had been practicing all week - IN MY MOTHER'S BED".

My resonse: "The same mother who would have sued me if you drown, Jacqui!"