Swimming pool risk assessment to prevent holiday accidents
Swimming pools are one of the most common causes of holiday accidents in the personal injury solicitors' area of holiday injury litigation and, whilst it is important for holiday makers to act responsibly in and around water, pool operators, hoteliers and tour companies have a duty of care to provide a safe environment for pool users.
In the UK there is no specific legislation governing swimming pools, but under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are required to carry out their business in such a way that employees and members of the public are not exposed to health and safety risks, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 says employers must make suitable and sufficient risk assessments of hazards that may be faced by members of the public which should help them decide what measures need to be taken in order to ensure their safety.
The overarching duty of a pool operator is to prevent exposure to risk, but this does not necessarily mean that disproportionate costs should be incurred in implementing measures that anticipate relatively remote risk.
Pool safety – General advice
When going to a swimming pool on holiday it is important to understand your surroundings in order to stay safe and to avoid a holiday accident. Before you use the pool there are some important safety issues to consider:
- Are safety rules for pool usage displayed clearly?
- Is the depth of the pool displayed and is it clear where the depth levels change?
- How many lifeguards are on duty and where are they positioned?
- Is there an admission policy for general swimming to avoid overcrowding and/or to ensure that children are accompanied by responsible adults?
- Is the water in the pool clear – if not, would that hinder safety?
If you feel unsure as to whether or not safety risk assessments have been carried out to ensure your and your children's safety, it might be better to avoid the pool.
Compensation after a holiday accident
If you or a family member is unfortunate enough to have had a holiday accident at a swimming pool, we can tell you very quickly if we feel you would be eligible to make a compensation claim.
The holiday injury solicitors at YouClaim are highly experienced in this field and will do their utmost to get you the compensation you deserve wherever a holiday operator has been negligent in their duty of care.
What's more, we have developed a no win no fee system that completely protects claimants from all fees, even in a lost case. Further, YouClaim claimants are guaranteed to receive 100 per cent of any compensation awarded; we will never take a penny once a sum has been agreed.
Contact us today
You can speak to one of our friendly yet knowledgeable advisors by calling our free UK helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or we can always call you back at a time to suit you.
Alternatively, you may wish to fill in our online claim form giving us brief details of your holiday accident and then one of our personal injury lawyers will look into the details before we discuss going ahead with the claim.
