My child suffered brain damage after falling into my neighbor’s pool. Can I sue? | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

As a Virginia personal injury lawyer, I’m tempted to answer this question with several technical terms like “negligence per se” and “premises liability.” The less legalistic response is that kids are drawn to pools and pool owners must take steps to limit kids’ unsupervised access to their pools.

Complying with building codes and, for places like hotels and rec centers, posting lifeguards go far toward meeting the duties to protect children from nearly drowning and suffering brain damage from lack of oxygen. But parents who see their child almost die and never fully recover from falling into a pool that lacks proper fencing or a cover in the winter definitely have grounds for filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Succeeding with a lawsuit involving a pool accident can require doing extensive research on what local ordinances require of pool owners, as well as investigating the activities of everyone who could have kept the child away from the pool. Partnering with a Virginia plaintiff’s attorney will ensure that the necessary answers are found.

EJL