Pool Parties and the Risk of Lawsuits: Read Before Hosting Your Next Get-Together

Pool season is fast approaching and if you are like me, you love having friends, family, and colleagues over for parties around the pool. While this can be a great deal of fun, it is important to recognize the fact that allowing guests to swim in your pool brings forth the potential for lawsuits against you.  

There are many cases that have involved swimmers being seriously injured and successfully receiving monetary awards after starting a lawsuit against the owner(s) of the premises.  

Under the law, you must ensure that your premises are “reasonably safe.” Courts have interpreted this to be a relatively high standard. It is therefore crucial to take all possible precautions to lessen the potential for injuries on your property and around your pool. This may include regularly drying the area around the pool, confirming that your pool is up to code, and making sure that there are no potential trip-and-fall dangers in the vicinity. In other words, use common sense.  

Before hosting your next pool party, it is prudent to review your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure that you are covered if there is an injury on your property and take a look at what the potential exclusions are. Furthermore, it is important to see how much money your policy covers in the event of a lawsuit. If someone is seriously injured on your property, damage awards can easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher. 

Stay safe and enjoy the pool season!