Skip to content
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Quick Answer & Overview
- Types of Florida Swimming Pool Accidents We Handle
- Florida Swimming Pool Accident Law
- Who Is Liable in a Pool Accident
- Common Swimming Pool Accident Injuries
- What Compensation Can You Recover
- What to Expect When You Hire Us
- Florida Communities We Serve
- Why Choose Kaiser Romanello
- Meet Our Florida Pool Accident Lawyers
- Florida Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer FAQ
Quick Answer: How a Florida Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer Helps You
If you or a child was hurt or drowned in a Florida pool, get emergency medical care first — anoxic brain injury and "dry" or delayed drowning can appear hours later. Then photograph the pool, the barrier or fence, any gate and latch, drains, warning signs, and the water. Get the names of every witness and the property owner.
Most Florida pool cases are premises liability claims: the pool owner or operator had a duty to keep the pool reasonably safe, and a failure to do so caused the injury. Public and hotel pools, residential pools, HOA and apartment pools, and pool-maintenance companies can all be liable. When a child is involved, Florida's attractive nuisance doctrine and the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Ch. 515) barrier requirements often decide the case.
Under HB 837, the deadline to file most Florida negligence cases is two years, and if you're found more than 50% at fault you recover nothing. For a free, confidential review with a Florida swimming pool accident lawyer, call Kaiser Romanello, P.A. at (844) 877-8679. No fee unless we win.
A swimming pool accident is rarely just a slip on a wet deck. Drownings and near-drownings can leave a child or adult with permanent anoxic brain injury; a diving injury can cause paralysis; a faulty drain can trap a swimmer underwater. Florida has more residential pools and year-round swimming than almost any state, and it consistently ranks among the highest in the nation for child drowning deaths. When those tragedies trace back to an unfenced pool, a broken gate latch, an unguarded public pool, or a defective drain, Florida law gives the injured person and the family a path to hold the responsible parties accountable.
Our firm, Kaiser Romanello, P.A., is headquartered in Parkland and represents Florida pool accident and drowning victims statewide. As your Florida swimming pool accident lawyer, our job is to identify every party who owed a duty of care — the homeowner, the HOA, the hotel or resort, the apartment complex, the maintenance company, the municipality that runs a public pool, or the manufacturer of a defective drain or cover — and to build the premises-liability and product-liability theories that reach every available insurance policy.
Types of Florida Swimming Pool Accidents We Handle
Every pool case carries its own evidence, liability, and insurance dynamics. Below are the most common swimming pool and drowning cases our Florida pool accident lawyers handle.
Drowning & Fatal Cases
The most devastating pool cases. When a drowning is fatal, the claim proceeds under Florida's Wrongful Death Act on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, and parents.
Near-Drowning & Anoxic Brain Injury
Survivors of submersion can suffer permanent oxygen-deprivation brain damage requiring lifetime care. "Dry" and delayed drowning symptoms can appear hours after the incident.
Child Drownings & Attractive Nuisance
Young children are drawn to water they cannot appreciate as dangerous. An unfenced or improperly gated pool can trigger liability even when the child was technically a trespasser.
Diving & Shallow-Water Injuries
Unmarked depth changes, missing "no diving" signage, and diving boards over shallow water cause catastrophic head, neck, and spinal-cord injuries.
Drain Entrapment & Suction Injuries
Faulty or non-compliant drains can trap a swimmer underwater or cause disembowelment injuries. These often involve both the property owner and the drain/cover manufacturer.
Slip, Trip & Fall on the Pool Deck
Wet, cracked, or algae-covered decks, broken ladders, and missing handrails produce fractures and head injuries governed by Florida premises-liability law.
Chemical Exposure & Burns
Improperly stored or imbalanced pool chemicals cause severe skin, eye, and respiratory injuries — frequently the fault of a pool-maintenance company.
Public Pool & Water Park Injuries
City pools, community centers, water parks, and splash pads carry their own duty-of-care standards and, when government-run, sovereign-immunity rules. Inadequate lifeguarding and unsafe features drive these claims.
Florida Swimming Pool Accident Law — The Rules That Control Your Case
Florida pool cases turn on a handful of doctrines and statutes. A Florida swimming pool accident lawyer who understands them together — not in isolation — is the difference between full recovery and a denied claim.
The Pool Owner's Duty of Care
Florida premises-liability law requires a property owner or operator to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn of dangers they knew or should have known about. The exact duty depends on the injured person's status — a paying hotel or public-pool guest (invitee) is owed the highest duty, including reasonable inspection for hidden hazards. When a pool owner ignores a broken gate, a missing barrier, or a known drain defect, that failure is the heart of the case.
Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act — Ch. 515, Fla. Stat.
Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act requires residential pools to have at least one approved safety feature — a barrier or fence meeting height and latch standards, an approved safety pool cover, self-closing and self-latching gates, or exit alarms on doors leading to the pool. A pool that lacks a required, compliant safety feature is powerful evidence of negligence, especially in a child-drowning case.
Liability for Child Trespassers
Under Florida's attractive nuisance doctrine, a swimming pool is treated as an inherent draw to young children who cannot appreciate its danger. A property owner can be held liable for a child's drowning — even a child who wandered onto the property — when the owner failed to take reasonable steps, like fencing and gating, to keep children out.
HB 837 — The 50% Cliff
Since March 24, 2023, Florida uses modified comparative negligence. If a jury finds the injured person 50% or more at fault, they recover nothing. Pool insurers aggressively argue that a guest ignored a "no lifeguard on duty" sign, dove into shallow water, or failed to supervise a child. Defeating an inflated comparative-fault percentage is a core part of what your Florida pool accident lawyer does from day one.
Two-Year Filing Deadline
HB 837 cut Florida's negligence statute of limitations to two years for incidents on or after March 24, 2023. Wrongful death is also two years from the date of death. Claims involving a public or municipal pool require formal written notice under Fla. Stat. §768.28 on a much shorter timeline. If a website tells you that you have four years, that information is outdated and dangerous.
Public & Municipal Pools — Fla. Stat. §768.28
When the pool is run by a city, county, or other government entity, sovereign immunity caps recovery ($200,000 per person / $300,000 per incident, absent a legislative claims bill) and imposes a strict pre-suit notice requirement. Missing that notice deadline can forfeit the claim entirely, which is why public-pool cases must be evaluated immediately.
Hurt in a Florida pool or drowning incident?
Evidence — gate latches, maintenance logs, surveillance video — disappears fast, and the 2-year deadline is running.
Call (844) 877-8679 Start Free Case ReviewWho Is Liable in a Florida Swimming Pool Accident?
Identifying every potentially liable party is the difference between a single homeowner's policy and a multi-policy recovery that actually covers catastrophic medical care. Here are the parties we evaluate in every Florida pool case.
1. Homeowners & Private Pool Owners
A private homeowner is responsible for keeping their pool reasonably safe and compliant with the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act's barrier requirements. Their homeowner's liability policy is usually the first source of recovery. Landlords and property owners who rent out homes with pools carry their own duties as well.
2. Hotels, Resorts & Vacation Rentals
Florida's tourism economy runs on hotel and resort pools. These operators owe their guests the highest duty of care — reasonable inspection, adequate signage, working safety equipment, and, where required, lifeguards or clear warnings. Commercial and hospitality policies carry far higher limits than a residential policy.
3. HOAs, Condos & Apartment Complexes
Community and apartment pools are controlled by an HOA, condo association, or property-management company. When a shared pool has a broken gate, no barrier, missing depth markers, or an unaddressed hazard, the association and its management company can share liability.
4. Municipalities & Public Pools
City and county pools, community centers, and public splash pads are run by government entities. These claims are viable but are governed by sovereign immunity caps and the strict §768.28 notice requirement — which is why they must be evaluated immediately.
5. Pool-Maintenance & Service Companies
If a maintenance company created or failed to correct a hazard — an imbalanced chemical load, a broken drain cover, a disabled alarm — that company's negligence and its policy come into play alongside the property owner's.
6. Drain, Cover & Equipment Manufacturers
Drain entrapment, suction injuries, and defective covers can support a Florida products-liability claim against the manufacturer. These cases require expert engineering analysis and preservation of the equipment in its post-incident condition.
7. Builders, Installers & Contractors
A pool built without required barriers, with improper depth transitions, or in violation of code can expose the builder or installer to liability. Permitting and construction records are key evidence.
Common Swimming Pool Accident Injuries
Pool injuries range from lacerations that heal in weeks to permanently disabling conditions requiring lifetime care. The injuries we see most often in serious Florida pool files:
- Anoxic & traumatic brain injury — oxygen deprivation from submersion, or head trauma from a fall or dive, producing permanent cognitive and physical impairment.
- Spinal cord injury & paralysis — from diving into shallow water or striking the pool bottom. Lifetime care costs frequently exceed $5 million.
- Drowning and fatal submersion — the basis for a Florida wrongful death claim.
- Secondary and delayed drowning — respiratory distress that appears hours after water inhalation, especially in children.
- Drain entrapment injuries — internal and evisceration injuries from powerful suction.
- Fractures and orthopedic trauma — from deck falls, broken ladders, and slip-and-fall incidents.
- Chemical burns — to skin, eyes, and lungs from imbalanced or improperly stored pool chemicals.
- Catastrophic injuries — requiring lifetime care planning and long-term medical support.
- Wrongful death — Florida's Wrongful Death Act compensates surviving spouses, children, and other dependents.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Florida allows recovery of both economic and non-economic damages in pool accident cases. In catastrophic and fatal cases, damages frequently exceed a single homeowner's policy, requiring pursuit of commercial, HOA, maintenance-company, and manufacturer coverage.
Economic Damages
- Past and future medical expenses (ER, surgery, rehabilitation, long-term care)
- Lifetime care and case-management costs for brain and spinal injuries
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Home and vehicle modifications for disability
- Funeral and burial expenses in fatal cases
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress, anxiety, and PTSD
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability, scarring, and disfigurement
- Loss of companionship and, for survivors, loss of a loved one's support and services
See representative outcomes on our case results page. Past results are not a guarantee of future outcomes; every case is different and is evaluated on its specific facts.
What to Expect When You Hire a Florida Pool Accident Lawyer
Pool cases live and die on evidence that disappears quickly — a gate gets fixed, a drain gets replaced, video gets overwritten. Here's what the first weeks typically look like when you retain Kaiser Romanello, P.A.
Free Case Review
We talk through the incident, the injuries, the property, and the insurance picture — no fee, no obligation. Call (844) 877-8679 or request a review online.
Evidence Preservation
We send preservation letters demanding the property owner, HOA, or operator keep maintenance logs, inspection records, incident reports, and surveillance video — and, in public-pool cases, we protect the §768.28 notice deadline.
Scene Investigation
We dispatch investigators to document the barrier, gate, latch, depth markers, drains, and signage, and we consult engineers, aquatic-safety experts, and medical professionals.
Liability & Coverage Mapping
We identify every potentially responsible party — owner, HOA, management company, maintenance vendor, manufacturer — and locate every applicable insurance policy.
Demand & Negotiation
Once the injury picture is stable, we present a documented demand supported by medical records, life-care plans, and expert opinions.
Litigation & Trial
If the insurer won't pay fair value, we file suit in the proper Florida venue and litigate aggressively through discovery and trial.
What NOT to Do After a Florida Pool Accident
Don't delay medical care. Anoxic brain injury and delayed drowning can worsen for hours after the incident — get evaluated even if the person seems fine.
Don't let the scene be "fixed" before it's documented. A repaired gate or replaced drain can erase the proof your case depends on. Photograph everything first.
Don't give a recorded statement to the property's insurer. The questions are designed to shift blame onto you or a supervising parent.
Don't sign a release or accept a fast settlement. Early offers come before the full extent of a brain or spinal injury is known.
Don't miss the notice deadline on a public pool. Government-run pools require pre-suit notice under Fla. Stat. §768.28 on a short timeline.
Don't wait. Florida's 2-year deadline runs from the date of the incident, and the physical evidence disappears far sooner.
Florida Communities We Serve
We represent injured Floridians and grieving families statewide. For Florida-wide guidance, see our accident services hub. We handle pool and drowning cases across the state, with dedicated pages for Broward County swimming pool accidents, Miami-Dade drowning cases, and Palm Beach County swimming injuries.
Broward County Pool Cases
From our Parkland office, we serve pool and drowning victims throughout Broward County — Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Coral Springs, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Pompano Beach, Plantation, and Davie. Our dedicated Broward County swimming pool accident lawyer page covers local premises-liability patterns and the county's high concentration of residential, HOA, and hotel pools.
Palm Beach & Miami-Dade County Cases
We maintain dedicated pages for Miami-Dade drowning accidents and Palm Beach County swimming injuries. We accept Florida pool and drowning cases statewide — Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and the Florida Keys. We also handle Florida beach and open-water drownings, including as a Panama City Beach rip current accident lawyer. Call (844) 877-8679 to confirm representation in your area.
Related Practice Areas
Why Choose Kaiser Romanello as Your Florida Pool Accident Lawyer
Statewide Reach
From Parkland, we serve all of Florida — residential, HOA, hotel, and public-pool cases across every county.
Premises-Liability Experience
Pool cases turn on duty, notice, and code compliance. We build those elements from day one.
Catastrophic-Injury Focus
Drowning and diving cases demand life-care planning and expert proof. We resource them fully.
Multi-Policy Recovery
We pursue owner, HOA, management, maintenance, and manufacturer coverage — not just the first policy we find.
No Fee Unless We Win
Contingency fee — you pay nothing up front, and nothing at all unless we recover for you.
Direct Attorney Access
You'll speak with the attorneys handling your case — not an intake specialist — from the first call through resolution.
Meet Our Florida Pool Accident Lawyers
Lorne Adam Kaiser, Esq.
Lorne has represented injured Floridians and grieving families in personal injury, catastrophic injury, premises liability, and wrongful death matters for decades. His practice includes drowning, near-drowning, and pool-injury cases across Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, and he has tried cases to verdict in multiple Florida circuits.
- Admitted to the Florida Bar
- Member, Florida Justice Association
- Focus: catastrophic injury & complex premises liability
Steve Romanello, Esq.
Steve litigates serious injury and wrongful death claims with an emphasis on identifying every responsible defendant — the difference between a single-policy result and a full recovery. His premises-liability work spans Broward, Palm Beach, and the rest of South Florida.
- Admitted to the Florida Bar
- Member, Florida Justice Association
- Focus: complex liability & trial litigation
Florida Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer FAQ
Who is liable if my child drowned or nearly drowned in a pool?
It depends on where and how it happened. A homeowner, HOA, apartment complex, hotel, or municipality may be liable if they failed to maintain a compliant barrier or gate, provide required safety features, or reasonably supervise a public pool. Florida's attractive nuisance doctrine and the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Ch. 515) are often central. Call Kaiser Romanello, P.A. at (844) 877-8679 for a free review.
What is Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act?
It's Chapter 515 of the Florida Statutes. It requires residential pools to have at least one approved safety feature — a compliant barrier or fence, a self-closing and self-latching gate, an approved safety cover, or door and pool alarms. A pool missing a required feature is strong evidence of negligence in a drowning case.
How long do I have to file a Florida pool accident claim?
Two years from the date of the incident under Florida's negligence statute of limitations, as amended by HB 837 in March 2023. Wrongful death is also two years from the date of death. If you've read that Florida gives you four years, that is outdated. Claims against a public or municipal pool require earlier written notice under Fla. Stat. §768.28.
Can I still recover if I was partially at fault?
Possibly. Under Florida's modified comparative negligence rule (HB 837), if you are 50% or less at fault you can still recover, reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you are barred from recovery. Insurers push comparative fault hard in pool cases — independent investigation often corrects an unfair fault split.
What if the drowning happened at a hotel, apartment, or public pool?
Those operators owe a high duty of care and typically carry far larger policies than a private homeowner. Hotel, resort, HOA, and apartment pools are prime premises-liability cases. Public and municipal pools are also actionable, but sovereign immunity caps and the §768.28 notice requirement make immediate action essential.
What is delayed or "dry" drowning, and why does it matter legally?
After a submersion or near-drowning, a person — especially a child — can develop respiratory distress hours later from inhaled water. It's a medical emergency, and it also matters legally: prompt treatment creates the record linking the harm to the incident. Always get evaluated after any submersion event.
What will it cost to hire a Florida swimming pool accident lawyer?
Nothing up front. Our fee is contingent — we only get paid if we recover compensation for you, and our fee is a percentage of the recovery. The initial case review is free. We advance the costs of investigators, experts, and litigation, and are reimbursed only if we win. If there's no recovery, you owe nothing.
Talk to a Florida Swimming Pool Accident Lawyer Today
Free, confidential case review. No fee unless we win. Serving injured Floridians and grieving families statewide from our Parkland office.
(844) 877-8679 Start Your Free Case ReviewThe hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future outcomes. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts. Information on this page is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Kaiser Romanello, P.A., 11555 Heron Bay Boulevard, Suite 200, Parkland, FL 33076.
$5 Million
Negligent Security
$4 Million
Truck Accident
$1 Million
Ride Share
$1 Million
Car Accident
“Kaiser Romanello changed my life. They are The Dream Team! Could not recommend them anymore! If you want to get the most money for your personal injury claim call Kaiser Romanello today!”
-Lu R
Former client
“l just got off the phone with Mr. Loren Kaiser for a free consultation and he was absolutely amazing. He was extremely helpful, detail oriented and did not add any “rushed” feeling to the phone call. If I have anything substantial to move forward with, I will proudly utilize this law office. Thank you, Mr. Kaiser, for your help, input and advice! It is greatly appreciated.”
-Trina R
Former client
“Steve and his partner are just very knowledgeable, amazing client service, Steve it is the kind of persons who loves what he is doing, he went about and beyond his lawyer responsibilities in my case, they care about you, If you are looking for professionals at the highest levels, use their services. Not only you will be represented by top lawyers, but you feel like part of the family. Thanks for everything, God bless you.”
-Carlos V
Former client
