The following parties might be liable for injuries sustained at a swimming pool: the property owner or occupier, a government entity, or the company that designed, manufactured, or distributed a defective product.
The property owner or occupier might be liable if the injury was caused by inadequate warning signs, insufficient supervision, or poor maintenance. Property owners and occupiers may also be held liable for injuries that result from a violation of laws or ordinances—for example, by failing to install the required fencing or by not using a pool cover.
If the injury occurred at a public pool, the government entity responsible for maintaining the pool might be liable for the resulting damages. To prevail in such a case, the claimant usually has to prove that the relevant government employees had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the injury yet failed to take reasonable steps to remedy it, or that there was a lack of reasonable maintenance or supervision.
If the injury occurred due to a faulty pool, equipment, or component, the designer, manufacturer, or distributor of that product might be held legally responsible. Strict liability applies to most product defect cases in California, so a finding of fault isn’t necessary to establish liability, meaning that you may not need to prove negligence or intent as a precondition to obtaining a financial award. If the defect was a result of faulty installation, the company or person who installed the product might be liable.
