A swimming pool accident can destroy a life in less than four minutes. That is how long it takes for a submerged brain to begin suffering permanent damage. There is no warning siren. There is no gradual decline. One moment your child is playing in the water, and the next moment they are on the bottom of a pool that someone else was supposed to be watching, and the clock is already ticking toward brain damage that no surgeon, no medication, and no amount of money can fully reverse.
I’m Scott DeSalvo. I have been a personal injury attorney in Chicago for over 27 years. I became a lawyer because I watched my father, a Teamster truck driver, get devastated by a work injury when I was nine years old and then spend 17 years fighting through the legal system to get what he was owed. That experience taught me that injured people need a fighter who understands the system and refuses to be pushed around by it. If someone you love has been injured or killed in a swimming pool accident because a property owner, lifeguard, management company, or manufacturer failed in their duty of care, I want to help. Call me at 312-500-4500. The consultation is free, available 24/7/365, and we speak Spanish.
Most people think of drowning as a binary event. Either you drown and die, or you are rescued and survive. The reality is far more devastating, and understanding the medical science of what actually happens during a submersion event is critical to understanding why these cases carry such enormous legal value.
The brain consumes a disproportionate amount of the body’s oxygen relative to its size. It is exquisitely sensitive to oxygen deprivation. When a person’s airway is submerged and they can no longer breathe, consciousness is lost within approximately 15 seconds. Irreversible brain cell death begins after roughly four minutes without oxygen. This is called anoxic brain injury, and it is the medical catastrophe hiding inside every drowning and near-drowning event.
Here is what the numbers reveal about this hidden crisis. For every child who dies from drowning, another five to seven children receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. More than 50 percent of drowning victims treated in emergency departments require hospitalization or transfer for further care, compared to just 4 to 6 percent for all other unintentional injuries combined. That hospitalization rate alone tells you something critical: when someone nearly drowns, the injuries are almost always serious. An estimated 20 percent of nonfatal drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. The total lifetime cost of a single nonfatal drowning that results in brain damage can exceed $5 million. Annual medical costs for long-term care of a brain-injured drowning survivor can reach $250,000 or more per year, year after year, for the rest of the victim’s life.
The specific injuries caused by anoxic brain damage from a near-drowning can include permanent cognitive impairment affecting memory, learning, and problem-solving abilities. They can include loss of motor function, impaired balance and coordination, seizure disorders, speech and language deficits, personality and behavioral changes, and in the most severe cases, a permanent vegetative state or locked-in syndrome. A 2017 study published in Human Brain Mapping found that some near-drowning victims previously believed to be in a vegetative state were actually locked-in, meaning they were conscious and aware of their surroundings but completely unable to move or communicate. That finding changed how these survivors receive treatment and long-term care, but it also underscores the devastating scope of these injuries.
Beyond brain damage, drowning survivors may develop acute respiratory distress syndrome from water aspiration. They may suffer cardiac complications from prolonged hypothermia and oxygen deprivation. They may develop secondary drowning, in which inhaled water causes progressive lung inflammation hours after the initial event, sometimes after the victim appeared to have fully recovered. These complications mean that even a person who seems fine after a near-drowning can deteriorate rapidly and must be monitored carefully.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States. For children ages 5 to 14, it is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, trailing only motor vehicle crashes. Over 4,500 people drowned each year in the United States from 2020 through 2022, approximately 500 more drowning deaths per year compared to 2019. That increase hit the populations already at highest risk the hardest, including young children, older adults, and Black communities of all ages.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that between 2022 and 2024, there was an average of 6,500 estimated pool- or spa-related emergency department-treated nonfatal drowning injuries among children under 15 each year. Seventy-three percent of those injured children were younger than 5 years old. Between 2019 and 2021, there was an average of 269 pool- or spa-related fatal drownings per year for children under 5, representing approximately 75 percent of all child drowning deaths. For children under five, 87 percent of fatal drownings happen in home pools or hot tubs.
In Illinois, the picture is equally grim. There were 744 drownings in Illinois over a recent multi-year reporting period. In 2022 alone, 15 children died in drowning accidents in the state. The Chicago Park District manages 77 public pools throughout the city plus 14 pools in public schools, and apartment complexes, hotels, water parks, and private residences add thousands more bodies of water where accidents can occur. The CDC has found that routine inspections resulted in the immediate closure of one out of every eight public pools and one out of every seven public hot tubs because of health and safety hazards. That means a significant percentage of the pools where Illinois families swim on any given day have safety violations that put lives at risk.
Racial disparities in drowning risk are stark and well-documented. Black children ages 10 to 14 drown at 7.6 times the rate of white children in the same age group. Black children are more likely to drown in public pools, while white children are more likely to drown in private pools. Children with autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to experience drowning than their typically developing peers. Males are twice as likely to drown as females across all age groups.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States. For children ages 5 to 14, it is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, trailing only motor vehicle crashes. Over 4,500 people drowned each year in the United States from 2020 through 2022, approximately 500 more drowning deaths per year compared to 2019. That increase hit the populations already at highest risk the hardest, including young children, older adults, and Black communities of all ages.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that between 2022 and 2024, there was an average of 6,500 estimated pool- or spa-related emergency department-treated nonfatal drowning injuries among children under 15 each year. Seventy-three percent of those injured children were younger than 5 years old. Between 2019 and 2021, there was an average of 269 pool- or spa-related fatal drownings per year for children under 5, representing approximately 75 percent of all child drowning deaths. For children under five, 87 percent of fatal drownings happen in home pools or hot tubs.
In Illinois, the picture is equally grim. There were 744 drownings in Illinois over a recent multi-year reporting period. In 2022 alone, 15 children died in drowning accidents in the state. The Chicago Park District manages 77 public pools throughout the city plus 14 pools in public schools, and apartment complexes, hotels, water parks, and private residences add thousands more bodies of water where accidents can occur. The CDC has found that routine inspections resulted in the immediate closure of one out of every eight public pools and one out of every seven public hot tubs because of health and safety hazards. That means a significant percentage of the pools where Illinois families swim on any given day have safety violations that put lives at risk.
Racial disparities in drowning risk are stark and well-documented. Black children ages 10 to 14 drown at 7.6 times the rate of white children in the same age group. Black children are more likely to drown in public pools, while white children are more likely to drown in private pools. Children with autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to experience drowning than their typically developing peers. Males are twice as likely to drown as females across all age groups.
Under Illinois premises liability law, property owners owe a duty of care to people who enter their property. The level of that duty depends on the status of the person on the property. Invited guests and paying customers are owed the highest duty of care, requiring the property owner to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, to warn of known hazards, and to conduct reasonable inspections to discover hidden dangers. This duty applies to hotel pool operators, apartment complex owners, water parks, public pool operators, fitness centers, and any other entity that opens a pool to guests or members.
Swimming pools are the textbook example of an attractive nuisance under Illinois law. The attractive nuisance doctrine imposes a duty on property owners to protect trespassing children from dangerous conditions on their property that are likely to attract children who do not understand the risk. A swimming pool is exactly such a condition. If a residential pool owner fails to install adequate fencing, self-latching gates, pool covers, or alarms, and a child enters the property without permission and drowns or is injured, the pool owner can be held liable even though the child was technically trespassing. The law recognizes that young children cannot appreciate the danger of water and should not be expected to protect themselves.
The Illinois Department of Public Health enforces the Swimming Facility Act, which regulates public swimming pools throughout the state. This act establishes requirements for water quality, safety equipment including life rings and rescue devices, signage, lifeguard staffing, fencing, and maintenance. In Cook County, pool owners must pass annual inspections from the Cook County Department of Public Health. Violation of any of these regulatory requirements is strong evidence of negligence in a personal injury case, because it demonstrates that the pool operator failed to meet the minimum safety standards established by law.
Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence standard. If the injured person bears some responsibility for the accident, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault. However, they can still recover as long as they are not more than 50 percent at fault. Defense attorneys in pool cases frequently argue that the victim assumed the risk, ignored posted rules, or was swimming while intoxicated. An experienced pool accident attorney knows how to counter these defenses and maximize recovery.
When a drowning or pool injury occurs at a municipal pool, a park district pool, or a public school pool, the claim is subject to the Illinois Tort Immunity Act. This means the injured party must generally prove willful and wanton conduct rather than mere negligence, and must comply with shorter filing deadlines. Notice requirements may apply. These cases require an attorney who understands the specific procedural hurdles of suing a government entity in Illinois.
The largest drowning verdict in Illinois history was a $21.5 million jury award in Cook County in 2018. A six-year-old boy drowned while attending a Justice Park District summer camp when camp counselors took the group to swim at the Bridgeview Park District pool. The child did not know how to swim and could not stand in the main pool with his head above water. He should have been in the wading pool. Instead, he was found unresponsive in the main pool. Rescuers and hospital personnel were unable to revive him. The jury held the park districts accountable for the catastrophic failure of supervision that cost this child his life.
A $4.5 million settlement was reached for a teenager who drowned during a camp swim activity. A $3.1 million settlement, reportedly the largest minor drowning settlement in Illinois history at the time, was recovered for a child who drowned at a hotel pool where there were numerous safety violations including a malfunctioning filter, a missing lifeline rope, and the absence of lifesaving devices. A $2.2 million settlement was recovered for a 33-year-old woman who drowned at a Chicago apartment complex pool that had no lifeguard, broken safety equipment, and inadequate warning signs. A $1.25 million settlement was reached for the family of an 88-year-old woman who drowned in a communal hot tub at a senior living complex where staff failed to supervise the area. A $1.2 million settlement was approved in Cook County for the family of a five-year-old boy who drowned at a Prospect Heights Park District facility where a childproof gate latch was known to be broken and counselors failed to prevent the child from accessing the pool unsupervised. And a $750,000 recovery was obtained for a child who drowned at a daycare center outing to a local swimming pool where the governmental entity failed to meet required safety standards for lifeguards and pool attendants.
These verdicts and settlements reflect a consistent pattern: when the evidence shows that a property owner, lifeguard, camp, school, or management company knew about safety deficiencies and failed to address them, Illinois juries hold them accountable.
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Swimming pool accident cases often involve multiple defendants, and identifying every responsible party is essential to maximizing recovery.
Property owners are liable when they fail to maintain the pool and surrounding area in a safe condition, fail to provide adequate barriers, or fail to warn of known hazards. This includes homeowners, apartment complex owners and management companies, hotel and resort operators, water parks, fitness centers, and country clubs. Pool management companies hired to maintain pools in apartment buildings and other multi-unit complexes can be separately liable if their negligence contributed to the unsafe conditions. Lifeguards and their employers are liable when lifeguards fail to actively monitor swimmers, fail to respond promptly to a drowning emergency, or lack proper training and certification. Product manufacturers are liable under strict product liability when defective pool equipment, including drain covers, diving boards, ladders, and pool lights, causes injury. Municipal entities operating public pools or park district pools can be liable under the Tort Immunity Act when their conduct rises to the level of willful and wanton disregard for safety. Camp operators, schools, and daycares are liable when they fail to provide adequate supervision during swimming activities.
If someone you love has been injured or killed in a swimming pool accident, the steps you take in the immediate aftermath can determine whether you will be able to hold the responsible parties accountable.
Call 911 immediately. Get emergency medical treatment without delay. For near-drowning victims, every second counts in preventing or limiting brain damage. Even if the person appears to recover, insist on emergency medical evaluation because secondary drowning can cause fatal respiratory failure hours after the initial submersion.
Document everything at the scene. Photograph the pool, the surrounding area, the fencing or lack of fencing, any broken equipment, any missing signage, and the drain covers. Note whether a lifeguard was present and whether they were actively monitoring the water. Get the names and contact information of every witness.
Report the incident to the property owner or manager in writing and keep a copy. Request the facility’s incident report, maintenance records, and inspection history. If it is a public pool, request records of any prior health department citations or inspection failures.
Contact an attorney immediately. Evidence in pool cases can disappear quickly. Pools are cleaned, equipment is replaced, security camera footage is overwritten, and management companies begin their own internal investigations designed to protect themselves, not your family. An experienced attorney can send preservation letters to prevent the destruction of evidence and begin building your case while the evidence is still available.
For most personal injury claims, you have two years from the date of injury. For wrongful death claims, you have two years from the date of death. However, if the claim is against a government entity such as a park district or municipal pool, the statute of limitations is one year and notice requirements may apply. If the victim is a minor, the statute of limitations may be tolled until the child turns 18, but certain notice requirements still apply on shorter deadlines. Do not wait to consult an attorney.
Yes. Under the attractive nuisance doctrine, a homeowner who fails to secure their pool with adequate fencing and gates can be held liable for a child’s drowning even if the child entered the property without permission. The claim would typically be filed against the homeowner’s insurance policy. If the homeowner was aware that children in the neighborhood had previously accessed the pool, or if the pool lacked fencing that complied with local code requirements, the case for liability is especially strong.
Nonfatal drowning cases involving anoxic brain injury are among the highest-value personal injury cases because the damages are catastrophic and lifelong. The lifetime cost of care for a brain-injured drowning survivor can exceed $5 million. Damages include all past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation, assistive care, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of normal life. Because the victim is often a child with their entire life ahead of them, the duration of care and lost opportunity is enormous. Each case is unique, but these cases consistently produce substantial verdicts and settlements.
A hotel, apartment complex, or other commercial pool operator may be liable if they fail to provide adequate supervision or safety measures and someone is injured or drowns as a result. While not all private pools are required to have lifeguards, they are required to maintain safe premises, provide safety equipment, post rules and depth markers, and comply with the Illinois Swimming Facility Act and applicable local codes. The absence of a lifeguard, combined with other safety deficiencies, is strong evidence of negligence.
Drain entrapment occurs when a pool or spa drain creates suction powerful enough to trap a swimmer against the drain opening. It can cause drowning, disembowelment, and other catastrophic injuries. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires all public pools and spas to have anti-entrapment drain covers. If a pool is not compliant with this federal law and someone is injured by drain entrapment, the pool operator and potentially the drain cover manufacturer are liable. The violation of a federal safety statute is powerful evidence in any personal injury case.
Yes. Camps, daycares, and schools have a duty to supervise children during swimming activities and to ensure the swim location meets safety standards. The $21.5 million Illinois verdict described above involved a summer camp that failed to adequately supervise a child who could not swim. If a camp or daycare took your child swimming without adequate supervision, proper assessment of swimming ability, or appropriate safety measures, and your child was injured or killed, you may have a strong case.
I handle swimming pool accident cases on a contingency fee basis. There is no upfront cost, no retainer, and no fee of any kind unless we win your case. All investigation expenses, expert fees, and litigation costs are advanced by the firm and recovered only if we obtain compensation for you.
Pool owners frequently use waivers and posted disclaimers to try to avoid liability. In Illinois, these waivers are often unenforceable when the injury resulted from the pool operator’s own negligence. Courts routinely reject waivers that are overly broad, vague, or that attempt to waive liability for willful or wanton conduct. A signed waiver does not give a pool operator permission to ignore safety requirements. An experienced attorney can evaluate whether the waiver in your case is enforceable.
Swimming pool accident cases require an attorney who understands premises liability, product liability, government immunity law, the attractive nuisance doctrine, and the complex medical science of anoxic brain injury. These cases often involve multiple defendants, disputed liability, and defense strategies designed to blame the victim. They require an attorney who is willing to go to trial if necessary.
I have spent 27 years fighting for injured people in the Chicago area. I have tried more than 30 cases to jury verdict. I trained at Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College and The Edge program. I understand the medical science behind drowning injuries, the engineering standards that regulate pool safety equipment, and the legal frameworks that determine who is liable and for how much. When a pool owner, hotel, apartment complex, camp, or manufacturer puts profits above safety and someone you love pays the price, I will hold them accountable.
Call DeSalvo Law at 312-500-4500.
Your fight is my fight!
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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