Swimming Pool Accidents
As summer approaches, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with one of the most popular summertime activities–swimming. Many people are being subjected to electrocution in swimming pools. An electric shock is defined as an injurious, but non-deadly, exposure to an electrical current. When an electric shock is powerful enough to cause fatalities, it constitutes an electrocution. Electric shock or electrocution in a pool often happens because of faulty electrical work involving wiring, grounding, and bonding.
Electrical Issues: Wiring, Grounding and Bonding
The connection of wires to the pool lights, filter pump, and control systems, amongst other electrical equipment is referred to wiring. Bonding is the permanent joining of metallic parts to form an electrically conductive path. Grounding is essentially a safeguard to protect people against potentially dangerous voltage as it establishes a path for conducting electrical energy, so that in the event of a malfunction, the ground or a proxy conducting body may absorb some of the dangerous current.
Wiring, bonding and grounding are all governed by standards set forth by the National Electrical Code whom dictates safety requirements to protect people from electrical hazards, such as the installation of a ground fault circuit interrupter and a GFCI device. The GCFI device detects when an electrical current is flowing through an unintended recipient, such as a person, and quickly shuts off the electric power circuit.
Proper Precautions
If you are performing electrical work on your own private pool, it is advisable to obtain a permit to have your work checked by a professional for safety. To ensure safety when dealing with pool lighting, 120-volt pool lights should be connected to a transformer that will convert them to 12 volts, thereby minimizing the risk of injury from dangerous levels of electricity in the event of an electrical malfunction.
Several recent cases of electric shock and electrocution involved faulty electrical work which led to swimming pool accidents that could have been prevented. Property owners must take reasonable measures to protect those on their premises from dangerous conditions. This includes maintaining a swimming pool and making sure that all wiring, bonding and grounding is up to code.
If a property owner breaches this duty of care and you were injured as result of their negligence, you may be able to hold the property owner liable for your injury. For example, if a faulty ground wire connected to a pool lamp allows dangerous voltage to flow into the pool, thereby causing you to suffer an electric shock, you may be entitled to compensation.
New Brunswick Premises Liability Lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Represent Swimming Pool Accident Victims
If you have suffered from an electric shock or you have lost a loved one in a swimming pool accident due to someone’s negligence, the New Brunswick premises liability lawyers at Harold J. Gerr can determine whether the property owner may be held liable. We are dedicated to holding property owners responsible for preventable accidents and we will fight to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. With offices conveniently located in Highland Park, New Jersey, we proudly represent clients in New Brunswick, Highland Park, Somerset and throughout New Jersey. Call us at 877-249-4600 or contact us online to discuss your case.
