A case involving the drowning death of a 5-year-old boy at a country club in Maryland is an example of what can happen when safety rules aren’t followed. A jury awarded his parents more than $4 million in damages in the lawsuit filed against Hunt Valley-based DRD Pool Service Inc., the club’s pool management company. The jury found the company negligent for failing to adequately train its lifeguards and properly staff the pool. The company was ordered to pay the parents $2,000,076 each – the $76 serving as a symbol of the child’s birthday, which was July 6th.

A 16-year-old lifeguard, who had been on the job for three weeks, was on duty when the child was found floating in the country club’s outdoor pool about 4:30 p.m. June 22, 2006. He had been swimming at the pool with an adult family friend and two other children. It’s significant that the parents have set up a foundation to honor their son. They are also working with lawmakers to create uniformity in safety requirements at public pools. They would also like to see more stringent rules because, for example, in Anne Arundel County, where the club was located, only one lifeguard is required for every 50 swimmers. They are calling for legislation that would decrease that ratio to one lifeguard per 25 swimmers.

Source: Baltimore Sun Reporter

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