The Unthinkable Has Happened: A Drowning or Near-Drowning in a San Antonio Pool. We Fight for Your Family.

There are few tragedies more devastating than a drowning or catastrophic swimming pool accident. In an instant, a fun family day can turn into a lifelong nightmare of brain injury, disability, or the unbearable loss of a child. These incidents are almost always preventable, stemming from a property owner’s clear and fundamental failure to provide a safe environment. Whether it’s a public pool, an apartment complex, a hotel, or a private backyard, Texas law imposes strict responsibilities on pool owners to prevent these very accidents.

At Barton & Associates, our San Antonio drowning accident lawyers approach these cases with profound compassion and unwavering legal determination. We understand the unique grief and trauma your family is enduring. While no amount of money can undo what has happened, financial compensation is crucial to provide for a child’s lifelong medical care after a near-drowning brain injury or to bring a measure of justice and accountability in a wrongful death case. Our mission is to hold every negligent party fully responsible, so other families might be spared your pain.

The Lifelong Impact of Drowning & Near-Drowning Accidents

A swimming pool accident can lead to two profoundly different but equally life-altering outcomes:

1. Non-Fatal Drowning (Near-Drowning): When a victim is rescued and resuscitated, they often suffer severe, permanent injuries due to oxygen deprivation to the brain (anoxic or hypoxic brain injury). These injuries can result in:
   1. Permanent Cognitive Disability: Loss of memory, reasoning, and learning ability.
   2. Physical Disabilities: Cerebral palsy-like symptoms, motor impairment, and paralysis.
   3. Need for 24/7 Lifetime Care: The victim may never live independently again, requiring constant medical and custodial care.
2. Fatal Drowning: The sudden, wrongful death of a child or adult leaves a family shattered, facing not only emotional agony but also funeral costs and the loss of a loved one’s future companionship and support.

Texas Law & Pool Safety: The Owner’s Non-Delegable Duty

Pool owners in Texas—whether municipal, commercial, or residential—have a heightened legal duty to protect against drowning, especially where children are concerned. This duty is rooted in the recognition that pools are an “attractive nuisance”—a dangerous condition that is highly enticing to children who cannot appreciate the risk.

To fulfill this duty, property owners must comply with Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 757 and local city ordinances (like those in San Antonio), which often mandate specific safety barriers. More broadly, they must exercise “ordinary care.” We prove negligence by showing the owner failed to implement reasonable, well-known safety measures, such as:

• Lack of Proper Perimeter Barriers: Failure to have a four-sided isolation fence of adequate height (at least 4 feet) with self-closing, self-latching gates that open outward, separating the pool from the house and the rest of the property.
• Non-Compliant or Broken Gates & Doors: Gates that don’t latch automatically, propped-open gates, or doors from the home that open directly to the pool area without alarms.
• Inadequate Supervision: This is critical for public and apartment pools. This includes:
  • No lifeguard on duty when one was required or advertised.
  • An inattentive, untrained, or absent lifeguard.
  • An insufficient number of lifeguards for the size of the pool and number of swimmers.
• Failure to Warn of Hazards: Not posting depth markers, “No Diving” signs in shallow areas, or warnings about slippery decks.
• Poor Maintenance & Hazardous Conditions: Cloudy water that obscures visibility of a swimmer in trouble, broken or missing drain covers that can cause entrapment, or dangerously slippery pool decks.

Common Scenarios in Swimming Pool Accident Cases

Our firm handles the full spectrum of pool-related injuries and deaths:

• Child Drowning in an Apartment or Hotel Pool: Where security gates were faulty, latches were broken, or supervision was absent.
• Residential Pool Parties: Where a homeowner fails to provide adequate supervision of both invited and uninvited children.
• Public & Community Pool Incidents: Involving negligent lifeguards, overcrowding, or defective equipment.
• Diving Accidents: Causing cervical spine injuries and paralysis due to diving into shallow water or water with obscured depth markers.
• Drain Entrapment Incidents: Where powerful suction from a broken or missing drain cover traps a swimmer, especially a child, underwater.
• Electrocution in Pools: From faulty underwater lighting or improperly grounded electrical equipment near the pool.

The Critical Steps to Take After a Pool Accident

In the chaos following an accident, taking these steps can protect your family’s rights:

1. Call 911 & Seek Immediate Medical Attention. This is paramount. Even if the victim seems okay after a near-drowning, they must be evaluated for secondary drowning and brain injury.
2. Preserve the Scene & Evidence. If possible, take photos and video of the pool area: the fence, the gate and its latch, the depth markers, the water clarity, and any relevant signage. Do not let the property owner “fix” the broken gate or drain immediately.
3. Identify Witnesses. Get the names and contact information of anyone who saw the incident, including other parents, lifeguards, and pool staff.
4. Report to the Property Owner/Manager. Make a formal report and request a copy. In a public setting, also report it to the entity responsible (e.g., the parks department, the apartment management company).
5. Document Everything. Write down a detailed timeline of events while memories are fresh: what happened, who was present, and what the conditions were.
6. Do NOT Speak to Insurance Adjusters. The property owner’s insurer will contact you. They may express sympathy but their goal is to settle quickly for minimal value. Do not give a statement. Refer them to your attorney.
7. Contact a Drowning Accident Attorney Immediately. Call Barton & Associates. Evidence disappears quickly—gates get repaired, staff are reassigned, and memories fade. We act fast to preserve evidence and begin our investigation.

How Barton & Associates Builds a Powerful Pool Accident Case

We conduct a meticulous, expert-driven investigation to establish liability and the full scope of damages:

• Immediate Evidence Preservation: We send spoliation letters to the property owner and their insurer, demanding they preserve the pool area in its current condition, all maintenance records, lifeguard training logs, surveillance footage, and incident reports.
• Expert Reconstruction & Analysis: We retain crucial experts:
  • Pool Safety Experts to testify about code violations and the failure to meet the standard of care.
  • Biomechanical Engineers for diving accidents to analyze forces and causation.
  • Medical Experts & Life Care Planners to document the devastating lifelong medical and custodial needs of a brain-injured child.
• Investigation of History: We investigate whether there have been prior incidents or safety complaints at the same pool, demonstrating the owner’s knowledge of the danger.
• Comprehensive Damages Calculation: In near-drowning cases, we calculate the staggering lifetime cost of care, which can easily reach tens of millions of dollars. We fight for:
  • Past and Future Medical Care (hospitalization, rehabilitation, therapy, 24/7 nursing)
  • Lost Earning Capacity of the victim
  • Physical Pain and Suffering & Mental Anguish
  • Loss of Enjoyment of Life & Permanent Disability
  • In wrongful death cases: Funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and mental anguish of surviving family members.

Why These Cases Require Specialized, Compassionate Advocacy

Pool accident cases are emotionally charged and legally complex. Insurance companies know the stakes are high and will fight to blame parents for a “lapse in supervision” or argue the child was a trespasser.

We are skilled at countering these defenses:

• We argue that the “attractive nuisance” doctrine applies, holding the owner responsible even if a child trespassed to get to the pool.
• We demonstrate that even if a parent was momentarily distracted, the owner’s failure to have a proper barrier is the primary cause of the accident.
• We bring a deep sense of compassion to our client relationships, understanding that you are grieving while facing a legal battle.

The Barton & Associates Difference

• Resources for a Lifetime Care Case: We have the financial capability and legal expertise to build and present multi-million dollar life-care plans to ensure a brain-injured child’s future is secure.
• Sensitive, Family-Focused Approach: We guide you through this process with patience and empathy, handling the legal burden so you can focus on healing and your family.
• Proven Results in Catastrophic Injury Cases: We have a track record of securing the resources families need after unthinkable tragedies.

Your Child’s Future, or Your Family’s Justice, Depends on This Case

For a child with a hypoxic brain injury, the compensation we secure is their lifeline—it funds the therapies, the equipment, and the care that will allow them to reach their maximum potential. In a wrongful death case, it is about accountability and providing the financial stability a family needs to move forward.

We fight not just for a settlement, but for a result that truly reflects the magnitude of your loss and needs.

Contact Our San Antonio Swimming Pool Accident Law Firm Today

If your child has suffered a near-drowning brain injury, or if you have lost a loved one in a drowning accident at a pool in San Antonio or South Texas, please reach out. The legal and investigative process must begin as soon as possible.

Do not let a property owner’s negligence define your child’s future or your family’s grief.

Call Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law, now at 210-500-0000 for a free, confidential, and compassionate consultation. We will listen with care, explain your legal options clearly, and begin the work of holding the responsible parties fully accountable.

Main Category: Personal Injury
Practice Area Category: Workplace & On-Site Injuries
Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law
115 Camaron St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Office: 210-500-0000