Texas Swimming Pool Accident Lawyers

Swimming pools are a source of fun and relaxation in Texas, especially during our blistering summer months. But they also come with serious risks. Whether at a private residence, apartment complex, public pool, or hotel, a momentary lapse in safety can lead to catastrophic injury or even death.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to a pool-related incident, a swimming pool accident lawyer at Varghese Summersett can help you pursue justice and compensation. In this article, our attorneys explain the various ways pool accidents occur, common injuries, who can be held liable, and how we can help.

Types of Swimming Pool Accidents and How They Occur

Swimming pool accidents can happen in an instant and often result from preventable negligence. Common types of swimming pool accidents in Texas include:

Drowning and Near-Drowning

Drowning and near-drownings are the most severe and tragic pool-related incidents. Children are especially vulnerable, and lack of proper supervision or inadequate barriers (like fencing) are often contributing factors. According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children in the state.

Slip and Falls

Pool decks, ladders, and diving boards can become slick with water, sunscreen, or algae, creating a hazardous environment. Property owners must regularly inspect and maintain walking surfaces to reduce slip hazards.

Diving Injuries

Improper signage or allowing diving in shallow areas can lead to spinal cord injuries, paralysis, or traumatic brain injuries. These cases frequently involve premises liability.

Entrapment or Suction Incidents

Defective or improperly maintained pool drains can trap swimmers, especially children, by their limbs or hair, sometimes resulting in serious injury or drowning.

Electrical Shock

Pools with faulty wiring or lighting can become a death trap. Electrocution is rare but deadly and usually results from code violations or negligent installation.

Chemical Burns and Respiratory Injuries

Improperly maintained chlorine levels or mixing of pool chemicals can cause skin irritation, burns, or respiratory damage from inhaling toxic fumes.

Common Swimming Pool Injuries

Swimming pool accidents often lead to serious, life-altering injuries — especially when negligence, inadequate supervision, or unsafe conditions are involved. These injuries can affect victims physically, emotionally, and financially for years to come. Some of the most common and devastating injuries include:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): A prolonged lack of oxygen during submersion can lead to severe brain damage. Victims of near-drowning incidents may suffer memory loss, cognitive impairment, developmental delays (in children), or permanent neurological damage. In the worst cases, the result is a persistent vegetative state or death.
• Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis: Diving into shallow or poorly marked water can result in catastrophic spinal cord injuries. Victims may experience partial or total paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia), requiring lifelong medical care, adaptive equipment, and home modifications.
• Broken Bones and Fractures: Slip-and-fall accidents are common around wet pool decks. A simple fall can lead to broken arms, legs, hips, or even skull fractures — especially in children and elderly individuals. These injuries can require surgery, physical therapy, and extensive recovery time.
• Lacerations and Soft Tissue Damage: Sharp pool edges, cracked tiles, and faulty drains can cause deep cuts, bruises, and other painful injuries. In some cases, these wounds can lead to disfigurement or infections, especially when water sanitation is poor.
• Lung Damage from Near-Drowning: Survivors of near-drowning may experience “secondary drowning,” in which water in the lungs causes inflammation or infection hours after the incident. This can result in pneumonia, respiratory distress, or long-term lung damage.
• Chemical Burns and Toxic Exposure: Improper handling or overuse of pool chemicals like chlorine and algaecides can cause chemical burns to the skin and eyes. Inhaling toxic fumes may also result in throat irritation, respiratory issues, or chemical pneumonitis.
• Electrocution and Cardiac Arrest: Faulty wiring in pool lights, pumps, or other electrical components can cause electric shock. These incidents are often fatal or result in cardiac arrest, internal injuries, or severe nerve damage.

Swimming Pool Accidents and Wrongful Death

When drowning results in death, the emotional and financial toll on families is devastating. Lives are changed in an instant, often due to circumstances that were entirely preventable — such as inadequate supervision, broken gates, faulty pool equipment, or a lack of warning signs. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71, surviving family members have the legal right to pursue a wrongful death claim against the party whose negligence contributed to the tragedy. These claims seek compensation for loss of companionship, emotional pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses, and the financial contributions the deceased would have made over their lifetime.

In Texas, wrongful death claims can be brought by the deceased’s spouse, children, or parents. If none of these individuals files within three months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate may step in and file a claim on behalf of the estate. The goal is not only to ease the financial burden on surviving loved ones, but also to hold negligent parties accountable and help prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Establishing liability in swimming pool drowning cases often involves showing that the property owner, manager, or another responsible party failed to uphold a duty of care. For example, if a hotel pool was left unsecured or a lifeguard failed to act, those facts can form the foundation of a wrongful death case. These lawsuits can be complex, requiring expert testimony, thorough investigation, and careful legal strategy — all of which an experienced wrongful death attorney can provide.

Beyond the legal implications, these cases are deeply personal. No amount of compensation can bring a loved one back, but a successful claim can offer a measure of justice, closure, and financial stability in a family’s darkest moments. At Varghese Summersett, we approach these cases with compassion and commitment, fighting to ensure your loved one’s memory is honored and your family’s future is protected.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Swimming Pool Accidents?

Liability depends on the circumstances of the accident and the type of property. Possible defendants include:

Property Owners and Managers

Whether it’s a homeowner, landlord, or hotel operator, the person responsible for the pool must maintain safe conditions and follow Texas premises liability laws.

Pool Maintenance Companies

If a contracted company failed to clean, inspect, or repair the pool properly, they could be held responsible for resulting injuries.

Product Manufacturers

When a pool-related injury is caused by a defective drain, ladder, diving board, or filtration system, the manufacturer may be liable under product liability laws.

Lifeguards or Pool Staff

For public or commercial pools, lifeguards must be properly trained and attentive. A lapse in monitoring or rescue efforts could result in liability for the individual and their employer.

Proving Negligence in Swimming Pool Accident Cases

To hold a party liable in a Texas swimming pool accident case, your lawyer must establish four legal elements:

• Duty of Care: The defendant owed a duty to maintain a reasonably safe pool environment.
• Breach of Duty: The defendant failed to meet that standard, such as by ignoring hazards or failing to post warning signs.
• Causation: The breach directly caused the accident or injury.
• Damages: The victim suffered harm—physical, emotional, or financial—as a result.

Photos of the pool, eyewitness accounts, expert testimony, maintenance logs, and medical records can all help establish negligence.

The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

In Texas, property owners can be held liable for injuries to children who access an unsecured pool — even if they were trespassing — under the “attractive nuisance doctrine.” The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine is a legal principle that holds property owners liable for injuries to children caused by hazardous features on their property that are likely to attract them. Swimming pools are one of the most common examples, especially relevant when they lack fencing, locks, or safety covers.

Under Texas law, if a landowner knows or should know that a condition on their property poses a danger to children — and fails to take reasonable steps to secure it — they may be held legally responsible for resulting injuries or deaths. To apply the doctrine, courts generally look at factors such as:

• Whether the condition was likely to attract children.
• Whether the child was too young to recognize the danger.
• Whether the risk outweighed the burden of securing the hazard (e.g., installing a fence or gate).
• Whether the landowner failed to take reasonable precautions.

Types of Compensation Available

Victims of swimming pool accidents may be entitled to several forms of compensation, depending on severity of their injures and the level of negligence involved. Compensation is designed to help victims recover financially, emotionally and physically after an accident.

Economic Damages

Economic damages cover the tangible, financial losses due to a swimming pool accident. These include:

•  Medical bills (past and future)
• Lost wages and future earning capacity
• Physical therapy or rehabilitation
• Funeral and burial expenses in wrongful death cases

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate for intangible losses that impact the victim’s quality of life. This includes:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship or consortium

Punitive Damages

In egregious cases involving gross negligence or reckless disregard for safety, Texas law allows courts to award punitive damages—also known as exemplary damages. Unlike compensatory damages, which are meant to reimburse victims for their losses, punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct in the future.
In the context of swimming pool accidents, punitive damages may be awarded if a property owner, pool operator, or other responsible party acted with extreme indifference to the safety of others. For example, parties may face punitive liability if they:

• Knowingly ignored known safety violations or code infractions, such as failing to repair a broken pool gate or ignoring health department citations.
• Failed to provide basic protective safeguards, such as secure fencing, self-latching gates, or pool covers in areas where children are present.
• Removed or disabled safety features, such as drain covers, depth markers, or warning signs.
• Operated a pool without trained lifeguards when required by law or knowingly hired unqualified staff.
• Used faulty or unapproved electrical or chemical systems, creating a foreseeable risk of electrocution or toxic exposure.

Punitive damages are not awarded in every case, but when justified, they send a powerful message: cutting corners on safety — especially where children or the public are concerned — will not be tolerated.

How an Experienced Swimming Pool Accident Attorney Can Help

Handling a swimming pool accident claim requires thorough investigation, strategic legal knowledge, and a willingness to take the case to trial, if necessary. At Varghese Summersett, our experienced swimming pool accident lawyers build strong cases by:

• Gathering evidence, including surveillance footage and witness statements
• Consulting pool safety experts, engineers, or medical professionals
• Calculating full damages, including long-term care costs
• Negotiating with insurance companies that aim to minimize payouts
• Taking your case to trial, if necessary, to achieve justice and fair compensation

We’ve handled complex premises liability and wrongful death claims across Texas and understand how to maximize compensation in pool injury cases.

Speak to a Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer Today

If you or your loved one was harmed or died in a swimming pool accident in Texas, don’t wait. These cases often involve critical evidence that can disappear quickly — like security footage or maintenance logs. Contact a swimming pool accident lawyer at Varghese Summersett for a free, no-obligation consultation. We don’t charge any fees unless we win your case.

Call us today at (817) 203-2220 or reach out online to speak directly with a seasoned Texas personal injury attorney. We’re here to provide answers, ease your burden, and help you move forward with the compensation you deserve. Don’t settle for less.