A new government report reveals that children younger than age 5 represent more than 75 percent of all pool and spa submersion deaths and 78 percent of pool and spa submersion injuries in the United States involving children younger than 15 years of age.

 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) points out that the lives of many children can be saved this summer by taking some simple safety steps, including (1) teaching all children to swim; (2) putting a fence around all pools; and (3) always watching children in and around the water.
The new CPSC Pool or Spa Submersions: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities, 2013 Report shows annual averages of:
*       390 pool or spa-related drownings for children younger than 15 with 76 percent (296) of the victims being younger than 5;
*       5,100 pool or spa-related emergency department-treated submersion injuries for children younger than 15 with 78 percent (4,000) of the injured being younger than 5.
New data from CPSC’s 2013 Submersion Report compile information on reported pool or spa-related drownings between 2008 and 2010 and estimated pool or spa-related injuries from 2010 through 2012 for children younger than 15. The estimated averages for the three-year periods represented show:
*       Residential locations dominated incidents involving victims younger than 5 years of age; 85 percent of the fatalities occurred at residential pools or spas. About 50 percent of the injuries and 73 percent of the fatalities involving children younger than 15 years occurred at a residence.
*       Of the reported pool fatalities for children younger than age 15, about 60 percent (231) occurred in in-ground pools; 15 percent (59) in above-ground pools, and nearly 10 percent (37) in portable pools.
For the complete reports see: Pool and Spa Submersions 2013 and Circulation/Suction Entrapments 2013.

About the Author: James Swartz
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Mr. Swartz, our Managing and Principal Attorney at Swartz & Swartz P.C., is a nationally recognized and respected trial attorney as well as consumer advocate. His practice focuses on cases involving negligence, torts, products liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and other claims involving catastrophic injuries.

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