If you get injured at a pool party in Las Vegas, you may have grounds to bring a lawsuit for damages such as medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. Ten common hazards at Nevada hotel pool parties include:
- Unqualified, negligent, or improperly trained lifeguards
- Chemically imbalanced water
- Inadequate security
- Violent security guards or other guests
- Defective drain covers
- Exposed wires
- Cracked pavement
- Glass or other debris in the pool
- Lack of childproof gates, locks, and covers
- Alcohol poisoning or food poisoning
To help you better understand pool party lawsuits, our Nevada personal injury lawyers discuss, below:
The statute of limitations to sue for premises liability can be as short as two (2) years, so contact us right away to start working on your case.
If you sustain swimming pool injuries, the property owner’s insurance company may have to pay for your medical expenses.
1. Grounds to Sue
Sometimes an accident at a pool party is just that – an accident that could not have been avoided.
Though often an accident at a pool party in Las Vegas results from
- someone’s negligence or intentional wrongful act or
- from a product defect.
In such a case, you can bring a lawsuit for your injury. Let us take a quick look at each of these situations.
Negligence by the Hotel
Las Vegas hotels have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for guests. This includes the duties to:
- fix dangerous defects in the pool area,
- clean up slick and slippery surfaces,
- provide adequate lighting,
- provide lifeguards and adequate supervision and security measures,
- avoid chemicals or substances in the pool that could cause injury to patrons, and
- any other measure that a patron would reasonably expect.
You may also be able to sue the hotel for negligent hiring, retention or supervision of an employee if it:
- fails to conduct an appropriate background check,
- hires or retains an employee who is unfit for the job or poses a danger to guests, or
- fails to train employees to perform a function necessary to keep guests safe.1
You can always sue the individual hotel employees for their negligent actions that caused your injuries, but chances are they are judgment-proof. It makes more sense to sue the hotel, which is vicariously liable for their employees’ negligence and has large insurance policies.2
Intentional Acts by Employees, Contractors or Guests
Not all Nevada pool party injuries are caused by simple negligence. Some are the result of intentional or reckless wrongful actions by:
- hotel employees,
- third parties contracted to provide food service,
- pool maintenance,
- security, or
- even other guests.
If any of these parties assaulted you, you may be able to sue them personally for battery, false imprisonment, and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress.3
Strict Liability for Defective Products
You may also be able to bring a strict liability lawsuit for defective products, even if no one was negligent. Injuries commonly arise from defective:
- diving boards,
- lighting in the pool area or underwater,
- cement, and
- hardware such as drains, Jacuzzi jets, and fences.4
In these cases, you would sue the product manufacturer, retailer, and/or distributor.
Swimming pool accidents can cause serious injuries that require life-long home healthcare.
2. Damages
If you were injured at a pool party as a result of someone else’s negligence, intentional act or because of a defective product, you may be entitled to compensation for:
In cases of malicious wrongdoing, you may even be able to get punitive damages.5
It is not uncommon for settlements to be very large considering how serious pool party injuries can be, such as:
- anoxic brain injuries
- bacterial infections
- dehydration
- fractures or lacerations from slip-and-falls, assaults, or sexual assaults
- electrocutions
- spinal cord injuries
- traumatic brain injuries from near drowning
If your loved one died at a pool party, we would sue for wrongful death in pursuit of such damages as funeral expenses and loss of support.6
3. What if I was partially to blame?
Under Nevada’s comparative negligence (shared fault) law, you can still recover damages from a pool party accident as long as you were no more than 50% to blame. The judge would just reduce your damages award by your percentage of fault.
For example if you were 25% at fault for slipping and falling at a pool party – and you sustained $10,000 in damages – you are entitled to $7,500.7
Additional Resources
For more information, refer to the following:
- Public Bathing Spaces (Pools and Spas) – General info by the Department of Health and Human Services Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH).
- Pool and Spa Tips – Guide by the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD).
- Swimming Pools – Drowning prevention tips by the Clark County government.
- Swimming Pool Guideline – Laws and schematics by the City of Las Vegas.
- Pools and Spas – Laws and safety tips by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
See also our related articles, Injured in a swimming pool in Las Vegas? 5 parties you can sue, water park injuries in Nevada and swimming pool accidents (including how homeowners’ pools can be an attractive nuisance to young children).
Legal References
- See Humphries v. New York-New York Hotel & Casino, (2017) 133 Nev. 607, 403 P.3d 358.
- See Rockwell v. Sun Harbor Budget Suites (1996) 112 Nev. 1217, 925 P.2d 1175.
- See Wood v. Safeway, Inc., (2005) 121 Nev. 724, 121 P.3d 1026.
- Nevada Jury Instructions 7.02.
- NRS 42.010. Also note that trespassers who get injured may receive less damages than guests to, or no damages at all. This is because hotels owe a lower duty of care to trespassers than to guests. NRS 41.515.
- NRS 41.085.
- NRS 41.141