Hot-tubs and whirlpools are used by adults for therapy, injury recovery, or sheer enjoyment and relaxation. Yet, most of these adults are unaware of the risks posed to children who play in or simply sit in hot tubs or whirlpools. In some cases, the dangers result from a defect in the tub or whirlpool itself, while in others, factors inherent in use of even a non-defective tub or whirlpool are to blame.
Hot tubs and whirlpools have been recalled for defects that create a variety of dangers for tub or whirlpool users or owners of premises on which such products are located. In recent years, for instance, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall of Hot Spring Spas and Limelight Hot Tubs due to a loose connection in the spas’ heaters that could cause a heater to ignite and start a fire, endangering not only any users of the spa but the owners and/or occupants of the property on which the spa was located.
Hot-tubs and whirlpools have also been found to contain defective or otherwise dangerous drain covers that can expose children (and adults) to the powerful suction of a pool or tub drain, which can suck in a child’s hair and trap the child underwater. Horrific injuries, including disembowelment and resultant death, have also resulted when children have sat on drains without proper covers to protect them from the drain’s suction. Though current federal law requires drain covers that have eliminated many of the suction dangers posed by earlier drain designs, defective, damaged, or missing drain covers may result in the same sorts of dangers and injuries.
If your child has been injured or killed in a hot-tub, spa, or whirlpool accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your child’s death or for the injuries your child has sustained. Nationally-recognized child-injury attorney Jeffrey Killino is dedicated to achieving justice for children who have been injured as a result of someone’s negligence or a defective product. Attorney Killino and his team of accident lawyers, injury lawyers, personal-injury lawyers, child-injury lawyers, child-accident lawyers, wrongful-death lawyers, and child brain-injury lawyers can help you obtain the compensation you deserve from those responsible for your child’s suffering.
Legal Liability for Hot-tub or Whirlpool Injuries
Legal liability for a child’s hot-tub or whirlpool injury may result from someone’s negligence or from a defect in a hot-tub or whirlpool or in one of a tub’s or pool’s components. One or several individuals or entities may be held legally responsible, depending upon the location of the hot-tub or whirlpool and the manner in which a child gained access thereto.
Liability for Injuries Caused by Defects in Hot-tub or Whirlpool
When a hot-tub or whirlpool contains a design or manufacturing defect, such as an unreasonably dangerous drain cover or heating component, the manufacturer of the whirlpool or hot-tub or of the defective component may be found liable in a product-liability action for injuries sustained by a child as a result of the product defect. Liability may also attach to others in the chain of the product’s or component part’s distribution. In addition, if a hot-tub or whirlpool does not contain adequate warnings of its dangers or instructions for its safe use, the same defendants may be held liable for a child’s injuries if the absence of or inadequacy of warnings or instructions is found to have been a cause of the child’s injuries.
Liability for Injuries Caused by Negligent Maintenance and Sanitation
The negligence of any one of several individuals or entities may be found to have constituted a cause of a child’s whirlpool or hot-tub injuries. Those responsible for maintenance and sanitation of whirlpools and hot-tubs made available for public use may be held liable in an action for negligence if the negligent maintenance or sanitation of the pool or tub is determined to have been a cause of a child’s injuries.
Such injuries could occur, for example, if damaged or missing drain covers are not replaced or if tub or whirlpool water is not kept clean enough for safe use. Hot-tub water filled with viruses and bacteria that thrive in hot water may cause a child who uses the tub to become seriously ill.
Children may also be injured or made ill during hot-tub or whirlpool use as a result of excessive exposure to heat. According to the CPSC, such tubs are not safe for use when the water temperature exceeds 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If a whirlpool or hot-tub is allowed to become excessively hot, those responsible for maintenance of the pool or tub as well as its owners and operators may be found liable for injuries sustained by a child as a result of exposure to excessive heat.
Liability for Failure to Post Instructions or Warnings Regarding Safe Use
In addition to the duty to warn of a product’s dangers that is owed by the manufacturer of a product such as a whirlpool or hot-tub, the owners and operators of such products have a duty to warn users of certain dangers of tub or pool use and to provide adequate instructions for their safe and proper use. Thus a failure to post a warning that use of such tubs for longer than a specified period of time may result in injury to children or adults may result in liability on the part of the owner and operator of the tub or pool if the failure to provide such instructions or warnings is found to have been a cause of a child’s injuries.
Obtain Expert Assistance from an Experienced Child-injury Attorney
If your child has been injured or killed in a hot-tub or whirlpool accident as a result of someone’s negligence or a defective product, nationally-recognized child-injury attorney Jeffrey Killino will help you achieve justice on your child’s behalf. Attorney Killino and his team of accident attorneys, injury attorneys, personal-injury attorneys, child-injury attorneys, child-accident attorneys, wrongful-death attorneys, and child brain-injury attorneys will do their utmost to hold those responsible for your child’s injuries accountable through legal action.
