Walnut Creek Drowning Lawyer
A few moments below the waves is sufficient to cause permanent brain damage. When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia, the brain begins shutting down parts of the body. Usually, this process begins with the extremities and then moves to more vital organs. As a result, even if the drowning victims survive, many of these individuals essentially become prisoners inside their own bodies.
The compassionate Walnut Creek drowning accident lawyers at Venardi Zurada understand the intense suffering these families must endure. This suffering is not just physical and financial. It is emotional as well. So, we work hard to obtain maximum compensation for all three types of losses. Our goal is to ensure that accident-related expenses are paid and that these families have the resources they need to carry on with their lives.
Landowner Responsibility
Per capita, there are more swimming pool drownings in California than in almost any other state in the Union. Typically, the victim is a small child. Also typically, the injury occurs in a crowd. All the adults assume that another adult is watching the child.
State law usually establishes swimming pool safety standards. At a minimum, residential pools must include safety features like:
- Unclimbable barrier which surrounds the pool,
- Self-latching gate which operates from the pool side,
- Lifesaving equipment near the water, and
- Alarms on any doors or windows which open directly to the pool area.
Frequently, local municipalities, such as cities and counties, have even stronger pool safety rules and regulations.
As for commercial swimming pool injuries, such as a homeowners’ association pool, or a drowning which occurs offshore or in a lake or river, the property owner usually has a duty of care to prevent drowning accidents if at all possible. The risk of harm is simply too high to ignore. This duty usually applies even if a child victim uses a pool or other property without the owner’s knowledge or permission.
Evidence in Drowning Claims
Medical bills and other such documents usually establish the nature and extent of an injury. In addition to diagnosis and treatment information, most medical records include treatment notes. These physician notes usually indicate things like the victim’s pain level and other such items. So, these records support a claim for both economic losses, such as medical expenses, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Frequently, there are no witnesses to swimming pool and other drownings. As mentioned, either no one sees the incident happen or the victim snuck into the danger zone. As a result, it could be difficult for some Walnut Creek drowning lawyer to prove that negligence caused the drowning.
California’s broad res ipsa loquitur rule often applies in these situations. Jurors may presume that negligence caused the injury in most situations.
The burden of proof in these claims is only a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. That’s one of the lowest burdens of proof in California law. So, a little proof goes a long way in these cases.
Contact a Diligent Alameda County Attorney
Injury victims are normally entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced drowning lawyer in Walnut Creek, contact Venardi Zurada, LLP. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
