Photograph the pool and its barriers now
Gates, latches, latch heights, fences, alarms, covers, and signage. These get repaired or replaced within days of an incident, and the condition at the time is the case.
Personal injury
Long Beach Drowning and Near-Drowning Lawyer
Most drownings involving children happen in a few seconds, in a pool the family knew about, and almost always where a barrier was missing, broken, or propped open. California law is specific about those barriers. The consultation is free.
Patrick S. AguirrePersonal injury attorney · Long Beach4.6 out of 5 from 41 Google reviews. 25+ years of experience Patrick handles your case personally
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The barriers
What the Swimming Pool Safety Act requires
California’s Swimming Pool Safety Act requires that when a building permit issues for a new or remodelled residential pool or spa, it be equipped with at least two of seven listed drowning prevention safety features. Those include an enclosure isolating the pool from the home that meets specified requirements, removable mesh fencing with a self-closing and self-latching gate, an approved safety pool cover, exit alarms on doors providing direct access to the pool, self-closing self-latching devices on those doors set at a specified height, and an alarm that sounds on entry into the water.
Violations are the centre of most residential drowning cases: a gate that did not self-latch, a latch installed low enough for a child to reach, an alarm disabled because it was inconvenient, a cover that was not in place, a permit taken out and the features never installed, or a remodel done without a permit at all. Those are provable from permit records and inspection history rather than from anyone’s recollection.
Apartment complexes, hotels, gyms, schools, and public pools have their own requirements, including fencing, depth markings, signage, anti-entrapment drain covers required by federal law, and in some settings lifeguards. Commercial operators also carry obligations about supervision and rescue equipment that residential owners do not.
Sources: Health and Safety Code 115922(a) — at least two of seven drowning prevention safety features on new or remodelled residential pools; Health and Safety Code 115921 — the definitions, including enclosure requirements; Health and Safety Code 115928 — public wading pools.
Responsibility
Who can be liable
Civil Code 1714 imposes a duty of ordinary care on everyone for injuries caused by their want of care in managing their property. For a pool that means a property owner, a landlord, a homeowners association, a hotel or apartment operator, a pool service or installation company, a manufacturer of a defective drain cover or alarm, and in a supervised setting a camp, school, or swim programme.
Where the pool is public, Government Code 835 governs liability for a dangerous condition of public property, and a written government claim must be presented within six months. Government Code 831.7 provides an immunity for hazardous recreational activities, but it contains express exceptions, including for failure to warn of a known dangerous condition not reasonably apparent, and for negligent failure to properly construct or maintain a structure or equipment. Whether the immunity applies at all is frequently the contested question in a public pool case.
Sources: Civil Code 1714(a) — the general duty of ordinary care; Government Code 835 — a dangerous condition of public property; Government Code 911.2(a) — six months to present a government claim; Government Code 831.7 — the hazardous recreational activity immunity and its exceptions.
Children
The rules are different for a child
Two doctrines matter. A pool is the classic attractive nuisance: an owner who maintains something likely to attract children who cannot appreciate the danger owes a duty to take reasonable steps to protect them, and a child who entered without permission is not treated as an ordinary trespasser.
And comparative fault barely applies. A child is held only to the standard of a reasonably careful child of the same age, maturity and experience, and a young child is generally incapable of negligence. An argument that a four-year-old was careless does not succeed, and arguments shifting blame to a supervising parent do not reduce the child’s own claim, though they may bring the parent in as an additional party.
A minor’s claim also runs on a different clock, and any settlement of it requires court approval through a minor’s compromise, which is a procedural step that protects the child and is not optional.
Near-drowning
The cases that do not end in death
A survived drowning is often the more complex case. Hypoxic brain injury from even a brief submersion can produce lifelong impairment requiring continuous care, therapy, equipment, and supervision, and the full extent is frequently not known for months or years. The value of such a case is dominated by future care rather than by past medical bills, which means a life-care plan prepared by qualified professionals, and an economist to reduce it to present value, is the substance of the claim rather than an accessory to it.
That work takes time, which has to be balanced against the two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 and, where a public entity is involved, the six-month claim deadline that has already started.
Sources: Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 — two years for personal injury or death; Civil Code 3333 — the measure of damages in tort.
The first weeks
What to preserve
Get the permit and inspection history
Building permits, inspection records, and code enforcement history are public and show what safety features were required and whether they were ever installed or signed off.
Identify everyone present
Who was supervising, who was in the water, who called 911, and what the response times were. The 911 audio and paramedic records fix the timeline better than memory.
Check whether the pool is public
A city, school, or district pool puts the case on a six-month government claim deadline that runs from the incident.
The office
How the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre handles these cases
The office has represented injured people and their families in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. A drowning case is built from the physical condition of the barriers and the documentary record behind them, and where a child survived with a brain injury, from a properly constructed account of the care they will need for the rest of their life.
These are the hardest cases a family goes through, and no result is promised here. The firm has offices in Long Beach and Downey and speaks Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
The pool had a fence. Does that end the claim?
Not by itself. The Swimming Pool Safety Act sets requirements for what the barrier has to do: an enclosure that isolates the pool from the home, gates that are self-closing and self-latching, latches at a specified height, and alarms where they are the chosen feature. A fence with a gate that did not latch, a latch a child could reach, or a disabled alarm is the usual finding in these cases, and permit and inspection records show what was required.
My child went into a neighbour’s yard without permission.
That generally does not defeat the claim. A pool is the classic attractive nuisance, and an owner who keeps something likely to draw children who cannot appreciate the danger owes a duty to take reasonable precautions. A child who entered uninvited is not treated as an ordinary trespasser, and a young child is generally held incapable of negligence.
It happened at a city or school pool. Is that different?
Yes, and the timing is urgent. A written government claim must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2, and after rejection there are six months to sue. Government Code 831.7 gives public entities an immunity for hazardous recreational activities, but it has express exceptions including failure to warn of a concealed dangerous condition and negligent construction or maintenance of structures and equipment.
My child survived but has a brain injury. How is that valued?
Predominantly by future care rather than past bills. Hypoxic injury can require therapy, equipment, supervision, and attendant care for life, and the claim is built on a life-care plan prepared by qualified professionals and reduced to present value by an economist. That takes time, which has to be managed against the filing deadlines.
Selected case results
Personal injury results
A selection from 55 documented results
$2,850,000
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$320,000
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$480,000
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$520,000
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$360,000
Motor-vehicle collision
Los Angeles Superior Court
Client experiences
What clients say
★★★★★
Patrick and his staff were very helpful with taking care of all the bills and legalities, so we can focus on healing.
★★★★★
Got my money and my vehicle fixed. Don’t hesitate to give them a call.
★★★★★
Patrick helped me with a dog bite case. He was able to get me more than I expected and was easy to work with. … I would recommend his services.
★★★★★
Patrick is very reliable, trustworthy, and will definitely be able to help you out. Cost is very reasonable.
Meet your attorney
Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.”
Robert F. Kennedy
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