Swimming Pool Drain Hazards: Body Entrapment
Swimming pools and spas are becoming an increasingly popular feature of backyard pools across the country. Many people realize that drowning is a potential hazard whenever there is a pool around, but most people do not realize the dangers that are associated with pool drains. The three main dangers posed by pool drains are body entrapment, hair entrapment, and evisceration.
Pool Drain Injury Statistics
According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there were 74 cases of body entrapment, which resulted in 13 confirmed deaths, between January of 1990 and August of 2004. These deaths were a result of drowning after the body or limb was caught against the drain of a pool or spa by the suction of the circulation pump. This problem, while not extremely common, can occur in both residential and public settings.
More than half (39) of the incidents reported to the CPSC occurred in spas, hot tubs, or whirl pools. 31 of the accidents took place in swimming pools, while 3 took place in a wading pool. The incidents affected people ranging in age from 22 months to 89 years, but the majority of incidents affected children ages 8 to 16 years old, with a median age of 9.
In many of these cases, the victim was playing with an open drain by inserting a hand or foot into the drain. The limb then got caught by the suction which caused the lib to swell. Once the limb swelled, it became nearly impossible for the child to escape the drain.
Are Dangerous Pool Drains Necessary?
For years, it was thought that having bottom drains in swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs was necessary in order to create proper water circulation and allow for the efficient removal of water contaminants. Despite the danger of injury from pool drains, they were considered a necessary evil and were built into virtually all swimming pools.
Recently, the need for hazardous pool drains has been challenged. According to a recent study conducted by Ray Cronise, co-founder of Trilogy Pools; and Dave Schowalter, a consulting engineer with Fluent, a developer of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, traditional pool drains perform no better at cleaning pools than other, safer alternatives, such as inlets and skimmers.
In other words, modern science suggests that there is absolutely no good reason to keep using bottom drains in swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs. Not only are these drains dangerous, but they also fail to outperform alternatives which carry none of the same risks.
Contact Us
If you have been injured due to a pool drain, contact the Madison pool drain injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C. at 1-800-822-1690 to discuss your case and to determine your legal options.