MIAMI, FL—July 13, 2011 – While authorities from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deemed a toddler’s recent drowning to be accidental, the fatal swimming pool accident yet again sheds light on the dangers many children, and even inexperienced swimmers, face. According to information provided by the Tampa Tribune, a 19-month-old New Port Richie boy allegedly slipped past his sleeping mother before falling into the pool and drowning in his family’s pool on July 11, 2011.
Reports indicated Juan Bermudez’s mother was asleep when the 19-month-old managed to get to the pool area of his family’s home. Given that the pool did not have a child proof fence around it, the tot fell in and was found unconscious.
Though paramedics responded to the young drowning victim’s home, which is located at 3606 Heron Island Drive, and rushed him to Community Hospital just before 7 p.m., his condition ultimately proved fatal.
The toddler’s drowning death came only hours after a New Port Richie teen nearly drowned. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel were contacted before 4 p.m., after a 14-year-old boy was discovered at the bottom of a residential swimming pool at 7007 Stone Road. Although the teen was apparently breathing upon being airlifted to an area hospital, his condition was not clear.
Department of Health (DOH) statistics suggested that among children between the ages of 1 and 4, drowning is the leading cause of death. Florida has the highest drowning death rate in the nation. In 2009, 48 Florida children in that age group drowned in swimming pools, specifically.
To help prevent potential drowning injuries and deaths in the future, the <Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. provided the following tips:
· Teach kids to swim at an early age
· Make sure children understand basic pool safety rules before they step foot in any body of water
· Never leave a child unattended
· If a child does indeed wander away, check the pool area first
· Set up child proof pool fences around residential swimming pools
· Keep a phone nearby so authorities can be contacted in the event of an emergency
· Cover and lock saunas when they are not in use
About the Miami injury lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
With four decades of experience litigating the multifaceted personal injury and wrongful death claims of negligence victims and their families, the knowledgeable Florida personal injury lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz are dedicated to protecting the rights of these individuals and fighting to ensure that their case is taken seriously. Skilled in a wide range of practice areas within the broad spectrum of personal injury litigation, the Miami injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. strive to provide justice to these injury victims and ultimately help them obtain the compensation they deserve.