713-222-7211 Call For A Free Consultation
Water sports and water-related activities are highly popular in Galveston due to its location directly on the Gulf of Mexico. However, unfortunately, with increased boating activity and water recreation activities comes an increased risk of accidents and drowning.
If you or a loved one has fallen victim to a Galveston drowning accident, a Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner is here to support you with getting optimal compensation.
Understanding Factors Involved in a Galveston Drowning Accident
Drowning accidents in Galveston and surrounding areas can happen in different places, such as public beaches, water parks, private hotels, residential swimming areas, and maritime vessels. Unfortunately, many drowning accidents are preventable in nature and ultimately happen due to wrongful or negligent behavior.
Common reasons for drowning or near-drowning incidents in Galveston include having an inadequate amount of safety equipment available, a lack of trained supervision, or dangerous hazards that were not accounted for.
A Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can analyze the details of your drowning incident, identifying liable parties involved and holding them accountable for their wrongful or negligent behavior.
How Do Galveston Drowning Accidents Happen?
There are various factors that can lead to a drowning accident in Galveston and surrounding areas, depending on the different parties involved, the setting of the drowning or near-drowning incident, and other details.
At Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, our experienced personal injury team has helped countless clients get compensation for drowning accidents that were caused by the following common factors:
- Impairment from alcohol or drugs. As alcohol and drugs can slow reaction times and decrease an individual’s physical and cognitive capabilities, this can lead to action or inaction that escalates a situation to a drowning incident. Swimmers, boating operators, and lifeguards who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be more prone to drowning or failing to prevent a drowning incident.
- Poor supervision. The population that is most susceptible to drowning incidents is small children. However, such drowning incidents can be avoided with the presence of adequate supervision, such as lifeguards.
It is critical for lifeguards, parents and other adults to be vigilant when small children are anywhere near water, and if the supervision is not sufficient or adequate, such parties can be held accountable for subsequent drowning incidents.
- Faulty swimming equipment. Companies that design and produce equipment related to swimming, boating, and recreational water activities have a responsibility to ensure their products are safe for consumers. If equipment such as boat parts, scuba diving equipment, ladders, filtration systems, or pool drains create unsafe swimming conditions that lead to a drowning incident, companies can be held accountable for this.
- Boating crashes. Unfortunately, boating accidents are common in Galveston. Such incidents, which involve motor vessels on the water, can include jet skis, boats, swimmers, and even large fishing vessels.
If a boat owner or operator does not adequately develop and enforce boating safety rules and regulations, such as having adequate life jackets on board or limiting the amount of alcohol consumption, they can be held accountable for subsequent drowning incidents.
- A lack of preventive measures. Owners and operators of public or private swimming facilities are required to ensure that their property is safe for swimming under Texas law.
This means that they need to provide adequate life-saving tools, put barriers around swimming areas, and provide signage or potential swimming hazards. If they fail to do so and someone drowns as a result, they can be held accountable for their negligent behavior.
- Extreme weather conditions. Swimming conditions can be threatening in dangerous weather, such as riptides, strong currents, and sudden storms.
While no one can control the weather, managers and operators of public and private swimming facilities have a responsibility to be aware of the forecast and keep swimmers informed about how this can impact their safety. For example, if currents are too strong, red flags should be raised on beaches.
While multiple factors can lead to drowning or near-drowning, one thing is always present in a personal injury case — negligent or wrongful behavior. Any Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner is here to gather robust evidence to show a liable party’s inaction or action that led to you or your loved one’s drowning injuries. Such evidence can hold them accountable for covering compensation for your damages.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Galveston Drowning Accident?
Galveston drowning accidents can be complex, involving multiple potentially liable parties. Therefore, it is critical to work with a Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, who can analyze the details of your case and determine who is at fault for the drowning or near-drowning accident. They can help you determine whether the following parties were liable in your case:
- Pool operators and lifeguards. Lifeguards and pool operators at swimming areas, such as water parks, beaches, and pools, must ensure swimmers are adequately monitored and in safe conditions. If a lifeguard does not receive adequate training or fails to adequately supervise, they can be held liable for any subsequent drowning incidents. Furthermore, their employer may be held accountable as well.
- Property owners. Individuals who own private property where swimming activities are taking place, such as hotel pools, water parks, and private waterfronts, must ensure that their property is safe for everyone on site.
Adequate safety measures include putting barriers around swimming areas, having adequate life-saving equipment available, and sufficiently warning if there are any swimming hazards. If they fail to do this, they can be held liable for subsequent drowning.
- Parts manufacturers. Parts manufacturers of various boating and swimming equipment can be held liable if such parts fail, leading to a drowning accident and injuries.
Parts manufacturers that are commonly implicated in Galveston drowning incidents include life jacket manufacturers and pool equipment manufacturers. For example, faulty pool drains can unnecessarily catch an individual and pull them under the water, leading to drowning injuries.
- Organizers of events. People who organize large events with swimming activities involved must take adequate safety measures to ensure their events are safe. If adequate precautions were not taken during a large swimming event, and someone sustained a drowning injury as a result, they can be held liable for their negligent actions.
- Boat drivers. Boat drivers and operators have the responsibility of ensuring that safety protocols are adequately implemented and followed by all passengers on the boat. If drowning happens due to a boating accident, the boat driver can be held accountable if it was caused by their negligent actions.
As each drowning incident is unique, there may be multiple liable parties involved in your particular personal injury case. A compassionate Galveston drowning accident lawyer from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can work closely with you to understand the particular details of your case and help you hold the right people accountable for their negligence.
Drowning Accident Injuries
Drowning accidents can, unfortunately, lead to many different severe injuries with long-term or permanent implications. Drowning injuries are typically caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and other organs in the body, resulting in far-reaching neurological and physical injury.
In near-drowning cases, in which victims survive their drowning incident, health consequences can be severe, requiring long-term medical care and rehabilitation. Some common injuries that are associated with drowning accidents include the following:
- Respiratory challenges. Drowning can lead to serious respiratory problems as a result of too much water coming into the lungs. After a near-drowning accident, victims may suffer from severe lung conditions, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, aspiration pneumonia, or pulmonary edema.
- Brain injury. One of the more severe injuries associated with near-drowning accidents includes hypoxic or anoxic brain injury, which happens as a result of oxygen deprivation to the brain.
After just a few minutes of being cut off from oxygen, brain cells start to die, leading to severe permanent and irreparable damage. Side effects of brain damage include speech problems, memory loss, cognitive impairment and, in severe cases, coma or vegetative state.
- Neurological problems. As a result of oxygen deprivation, victims of near-drowning incidents can also suffer from ongoing neurological issues, such as motor skill impairment, sensory impairment, and seizures.
- Heart injuries. The heart can undergo serious stress as a result of not receiving oxygen during a drowning incident, leading to arrhythmias or even cardiac arrest. Even after an individual undergoes resuscitation, they can still face long-term heart-related health problems.
- Spinal cord injuries. If an individual crushes or fractures their spinal cord as a result of their drowning-related accident, they can suffer from long-term partial or complete paralysis. Such associated cases can include diving into shallow water, falling into shallow water, and boating accidents.
- Psychological disorders. As drowning accidents can be extremely traumatic, survivors commonly experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety as a result. In particular, youths may have severe emotional trauma after a near-drowning accident, resulting in fear of going near water and ongoing anxiety or panic attacks.
- A persistent vegetative state. If the brain is deprived of oxygen for too long, it can be severely damaged as a result, keeping it from functioning normally. Victims and those who are in a persistent vegetative state will require long-term medical care, such as 24-hour medical services, ventilation and feeding tubes.
Drowning accident injuries commonly lead to death. If you have tragically lost a loved one to a Galveston drowning accident, a compassionate Galveston drowning accident lawyer from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can help you hold the at-fault parties accountable for their negligent or wrongful actions. While no settlement amount can ever replace your loved one, we can at least ensure your family has adequate financial compensation to grieve and honor them.
How Can a Galveston Drowning Accident Attorney Support My Case?
If you or a loved one has sustained death or injuries as a result of a Galveston drowning accident, a Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can help you get the compensation you are entitled to in order to cover subsequent damages and losses. Specifically, they can support you with the following:
- Investigating your accident. A lawyer can take a deep look into the circumstances of your drowning incident to understand how it happened and who the responsible parties are. This can involve collecting statements from witnesses, looking over accident reports, reviewing safety protocols, and analyzing video footage.
- Determining potentially liable parties. As multiple parties can be commonly involved in a drowning accident, it can be complex to understand who is responsible for the accident. A lawyer can determine whether part manufacturers, boat operators, lifeguards, or other parties are responsible for causing the drowning incident.
- Showing negligence. A lawyer from our firm can produce concrete evidence to show that the actual party carried out negligent actions that led to the accident. They can show evidence that there were unsafe conditions, a lack of adequate safety precautions, or a failure to supervise.
- Negotiating with insurance companies. As insurance companies commonly try to deny responsibility for accidents or minimize payments, it can be beneficial to work with an attorney who leverages critical negotiation techniques to get you a compensation settlement that is fair and just.
- Pursuing litigation. In some cases, it may be necessary to pursue litigation in order to hold liable parties accountable for their actions. An experienced lawyer from our firm can support you with navigating subsequent legal processes, from supporting you with filing paperwork to advocating on your behalf in the courtroom.
Hold Parties Accountable for Negligent Behavior That Led to Your Drowning Accident
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a Galveston drowning accident, you are likely experiencing severe physical and emotional losses. An experienced Galveston drowning accident attorney from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can support you during this difficult time with navigating the legal system to hold liable parties accountable for their actions.
Together, we can design and implement an optimal strategy to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.
Request A
Free Consultation
Fields Marked With An “*” Are Required