Injured in a Las Vegas swimming pool? 3 parties you can sue

In 2022, 10 children ages 14 and younger died by drowning in Clark County swimming pools according to the Southern Nevada Health District. Eight of those children were four years old or younger. The CDC estimates that 1.25 of every 100,000 people in Nevada suffer drowning deaths.¹

Drownings are not the only swimming pool injuries in Las Vegas. Victims also sustain:

• fractures, lacerations, and cuts from slip-and-falls from poorly maintained surfaces/masonry,
• infections from untreated water,
• electrocution burns if an electric cord touches the water, or even
• heat stroke from overly hot jacuzzis.

Swimming pool deaths shatter families, and non-fatal accidents can result in serious injuries requiring expensive medical treatments and home healthcare. In many of these cases, a third-party is to blame.

Three potential defendants you can sue in a Las Vegas swimming pool injury lawsuit are:

1. The swimming pool owner(s)
2. Other swimmers
3. The pool- or pool equipment manufacturer

1. Swimming pool owners(s)

The person or company who owns and operates a swimming pool where the accident occurred can be sued for negligence or wrongful death (if your family member died). Even if the owner was not present during the accident, they still have a legal “duty of care” under premises liability law.

To prevail on in a premises liability lawsuit, we would need to prove:

1. There was a dangerous condition on the premises;
2. The property owner knew (or reasonably should have known) about it; and
3. The dangerous condition caused your injuries.

In legal terms, swimming pools are considered “attractive nuisances” that may attract trespassers. This is why homeowners should have a pool fence (and an alarm), especially if they know children have easy access to their backyard. (Fences are also important to safeguard against adult trespassers who may have intellectual disabilities such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism or Down Syndrome.)

Or if a Las Vegas hotel/motel has a private pool party but fails to hire a lifeguard, it could be held liable for any unintentional drownings due to lack of supervision. This is especially true if the hotel/motel managers knew their guests (“invitees”) would be drinking and therefore prone to fall accidents.

Even the City of Las Vegas could be held liable for accidents that occur in its public swimming pools. I have seen cases where a defective drainage system sucked a swimmer below the water level (“circulation entrapment”), and the the municipal government was held liable for failing to maintain pool safety.

Can I sue the swimming pool staff?

Yes, you may be able to sue the swimming pool’s supervisors or lifeguards for injuries that occurred on their watch. Though in my experience, it is often not worth it.

Under the legal principle of respondeat superior (vicarious liability), employers are responsible for their employees’ negligence. Plus, the employers likely have deeper pockets anyway.²

2. Other swimmers

Sometimes swimming pool accidents occur at the fault of other swimmers, particularly if they are intoxicated, roughhousing, or in a fight. I have seen cases where someone:

• pushed another person into the pool, causing them to hit their head,
• held another person underwater for too long, causing them to suffocate, or
• dropped a beer bottle and did not clean it up or alert the owner, and soon after someone cut themselves on the broken glass.

In these or similar cases, you may be able to sue the at-fault party for battery and negligence. If your family member died in the accident, you could file a wrongful death lawsuit.³ (Depending on the case, the D.A. may bring criminal charges as well.)

3. The pool- or equipment manufacturer

The manufacturers of pools and pool equipment are held to a strict liability standard. In order to prevail in a lawsuit against them following a swimming pool accident, we would have to show :

1. The product was defective;
2. The defect existed when the product left the defendant’s possession;
3. The product was used in a manner reasonably foreseeable by the defendant; and
4. That the defect was a cause of your injuries.

Serious injuries or death can result from defective pool equipment such as diving boards, handrails, slides, ladders, filters, pool pumps, flotation devices, or expired/contaminated chemicals. Meanwhile, underwater tubing, piping, or debris can cause swimmers to get entangled.

Common evidence we rely on in these cases are photographs of the defective equipment and eyewitnesses who can testify to how it failed.⁴

What if I was partly to blame?

Under Nevada’s comparative negligence laws, you can still recover damages from a swimming pool injury as long as you were not more than 50% at fault. Your final payout, though, will be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault.

Example: You sustain $10,000 from breaking your leg while running to the pool at your fitness center. The court finds the fitness center 50% at fault for not having a “wet floor” sign and you 50% at fault because you were running. Therefore you could receive $5,000 (half of $10,000).

What damages can I get?

In every Nevada swimming pool lawsuit, I seek damages for:

• medical expenses, which may include lifelong home health care and intensive rehabilitation;
• lost wages and loss of earning potential;
• pain and suffering (often the biggest expense); and
• any other out-of-pocket expenses that you incurred.

In cases where your family member died, you may recover damages for funeral/burial expenses and loss of support.

The vast majority of these cases settle out of court, though if necessary I can take the matter to trial in pursuit of a jury verdict. Note that the statute of limitations to sue for a swimming pool injury or drowning is usually only two years after the incident, so do not wait to contact me.

Additional resources

For more information, refer to the following:

• Public Bathing Spaces (Pools and Spas) – General info by the Department of Health and Human Services Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH).
• Pool and Spa Tips – Guide by the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD).
• Swimming Pools – Drowning prevention tips by the Clark County government.
• Swimming Pool Guideline – Laws and schematics by the City of Las Vegas.
• Pools and Spas – Laws and safety tips by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

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Legal References