Drowning & Pool Accident Lawyer
A drowning or near-drowning changes a family forever. When it happened because someone failed to keep a pool, beach, waterpark, or boat safe, your family deserves answers — and accountability. Our offices are in New Jersey and New York, and we review drowning cases from anywhere in the United States. We find out what went wrong, and we don't charge a fee unless we win.
Most drownings are not unavoidable accidents — they involve a missing fence, an absent lifeguard, a broken gate, or a lapse in supervision that the law required someone to prevent. Filing deadlines vary by state — often two or three years, but claims involving a public pool or town beach can require formal notice within months, sometimes 90 days or less. The consultation is free and confidential, and there is no fee unless we win: (201) 335-6788.
Answers first.
Then accountability.
When a family calls us after a drowning, the first thing they usually want isn't money — it's to understand how this was allowed to happen. That's where we start. We investigate the property, the barriers, the supervision, the equipment, and the response, and we find out what the owner or operator did — or failed to do — before your family ever arrived.
The painful truth in many cases is that the drowning was preventable: a gate that didn't latch, a lifeguard chair that sat empty, a drain cover that didn't meet federal standards, a camp that lost track of a child. The law places real duties on the people who own and operate places where people swim. When those duties are ignored, the law provides a path to hold them responsible.
You will work directly with John Onal, with the patience and privacy these cases require. Every case is prepared as if it will go to trial — and there is never a fee unless we recover for your family.
Drowning & swimming pool
accidents we handle.
Residential Pools
Backyard pools without required fencing, self-latching gates, or covers — the setting for many child drownings. In most cases the claim is paid by the homeowner's insurance, not the homeowner personally.
Hotels & Rentals
Unsafe pool areas, broken gates and locks, missing safety equipment, no depth markings, and unsupervised pools at hotels, motels, and short-term rental properties.
Apartment & Condo Pools
Complexes and associations that fail to secure pool areas, maintain equipment, or follow the supervision and safety standards that apply to shared facilities.
Waterparks, Gyms & Swim Clubs
Understaffed or inattentive lifeguards, dangerous rides and wave pools, overcrowding, and inadequate emergency response at commercial swim facilities.
Camps, Daycares & Schools
Children lost track of during swim time, missing swim tests, inadequate supervision ratios, and trips to water without proper safety planning.
Public Pools, Beaches & Boating
Municipal pools and guarded beaches with staffing or response failures — where strict 90-day notice rules apply — and drownings caused by negligent or impaired boat operators.
Who can be held
responsible.
Responsibility follows control: whoever owned, operated, or was trusted to watch the water can be answerable for what happened in it. Part of our job is finding every responsible party — and every insurance policy that applies.
Homeowners, hotels, landlords, condo and homeowners' associations responsible for securing and maintaining pool areas — usually answering through their insurance policies.
Waterparks, gyms, swim clubs, and pool-management companies responsible for staffing, supervision, safety equipment, and safe operations.
Organizations that took responsibility for supervising children in or near water and failed to keep track of them.
Towns and agencies operating public pools and guarded beaches — subject to the Tort Claims Act's strict 90-day notice deadline.
Pool builders, maintenance companies, and makers of defective drains, covers, gates, and equipment — including violations of the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act.
Negligent, inattentive, or intoxicated operators — and owners who let unqualified people take the helm.
The duties the law places
on people who own the water.
Premises Liability
Property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to the people on their property — and the duty is at its highest for paying guests and invited visitors. An unsafe pool area, a broken gate, missing rescue equipment, or a hazard the owner knew about and ignored can all support a claim.
Children & Unsecured Pools
The law recognizes what every parent knows: children are drawn to water and cannot appreciate its danger. State construction codes and local ordinances across the country require pools to be secured with fencing, self-closing and self-latching gates, and barriers. A child getting into an unsecured pool — even uninvited — does not automatically bar a claim against the owner who left it open.
Supervision & Lifeguard Standards
Facilities that open water to the public are held to safety standards for staffing, supervision, and emergency equipment, and organizations that take charge of children — camps, daycares, schools — are held to the level of care the situation demands. A "No Lifeguard on Duty" sign does not erase those duties by itself.
Defective Drains & Equipment
The federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act requires anti-entrapment drain covers on public pools and spas because suction entrapment has killed and injured swimmers — many of them children. Non-compliant drains, defective gates, latches, and covers can create claims against operators, contractors, and manufacturers.
Public Pools & Town Beaches
When the drowning happened at a municipal pool, a town beach, or another public facility, the claim runs through a tort claims act with strict requirements — including a formal notice of claim that in some states is due within 90 days or less. Families who wait even a season can lose the right to bring the case at all.
Deadlines & Waivers
Filing deadlines vary by state — often two or three years, with special rules for claims on behalf of children — though evidence should never wait. And a signed waiver from a gym, pool, or waterpark is not automatically the end of your case — courts in many states have limited what waivers can cover, especially for children.
When your loved one
survived — but isn't the same.
Minutes without oxygen can cause hypoxic or anoxic brain injury — damage that may mean a lifetime of therapy, nursing care, and lost independence, especially for a child.
Not every drowning case involves a death. Survivors can also face delayed respiratory complications in the hours after a water incident, which is why emergency evaluation matters even when someone seems okay.
These cases demand more than proving what happened at the water. We work with medical experts to document what the injury means for the rest of your loved one's life — the care they will need, the work they won't be able to do, the future that changed — so the claim reflects all of it, not just the hospital bills that exist today. Our brain & spinal injury practice handles exactly this kind of lifelong-consequence case.
What a claim
can pursue.
After a Fatal Drowning
- Wrongful-death damages for the family's loss
- A survival action for what your loved one endured
- Medical and emergency-response expenses
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of financial support and services
After a Near-Drowning
- Current & future medical and rehabilitation care
- Lifetime care for brain injury
- Lost wages & lost earning capacity
- Pain, suffering & loss of enjoyment of life
- A family's costs of caring for the survivor
No case can undo a drowning. What it can do is provide for the people left carrying it — and force a change at the property so it doesn't happen to another family. Fatal cases proceed through our wrongful death practice with the same trial-ready standard.
Free & confidential consultation · No fee unless we win · Available 24/7
Call (201) 335-6788Steps that protect
your family's case.
Put medical care first
After any water incident — even one that seems minor — get an emergency evaluation. Complications can develop in the hours that follow, and the medical record also documents what happened.
Make sure it was reported
A 911 call, police report, or facility incident report creates an official record of the scene, the conditions, and who was present.
Preserve what you can
Photos of the pool area, gates, fencing, signage, and equipment; names of witnesses; the clothing and flotation devices involved. Conditions at a pool change fast — sometimes the very next day.
Be careful with insurers and waivers
Don't give a recorded statement, sign anything, or accept any offer from a property owner's insurer before speaking with a lawyer. What's said early is used later.
Talk to us — when you're ready
The consultation is free, confidential, and without obligation. If a public facility is involved, short notice deadlines make an early call important — but we will meet your family with the patience this deserves.
Serving Families
Nationwide.
Our offices are in Elmwood Park, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York — but you can call us from anywhere in the United States. We review drowning cases from every state and, when it's required, work alongside counsel admitted in that state so your family's case is handled properly from start to finish.
No Case Too Small.
No Case Too Big.
Whatever your family is facing, you get the same thing from us: direct attention from John Onal, a full investigation, and a file prepared as if it's going to trial — because that's what makes an insurance company take a claim seriously in the first place.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Available 24/7.
Drowning case questions,
answered straight.
Who can be held responsible for a drowning?+
It depends on where it happened and why. Potentially responsible parties include homeowners with pools, hotels and short-term rentals, apartment complexes and condo associations, gyms and swim clubs, waterparks, camps and daycares, municipalities operating public pools and guarded beaches, pool construction and maintenance companies, equipment manufacturers, and boat operators. Our investigation identifies every party whose negligence contributed — and every insurance policy that applies.
My child got into a neighbor's pool. Do we have a case?+
Possibly. The law recognizes that children are drawn to pools and can't appreciate the danger, and property owners are generally expected to secure pools with fencing and self-latching gates. A child entering an unsecured pool — even uninvited — does not automatically bar a claim. These cases turn on the specific facts, and the consultation is free and confidential.
Does a "No Lifeguard on Duty" sign protect the owner?+
Not by itself. A sign doesn't excuse an owner from maintaining barriers, gates, drain covers, safety equipment, and safe conditions, or from the supervision standards that apply to the facility. Whether the sign matters depends on the type of property and what actually caused the drowning.
We signed a waiver. Is our case over?+
Not necessarily. Waivers are not absolute, and courts in many states have limited a parent's ability to sign away a minor child's injury claims in advance. Whether a waiver applies depends on its language, who signed it, and the nature of the negligence. Let us read it — for free — before you assume it ends your case.
It happened at a public pool or town beach. Is that different?+
Yes. Claims against public entities run through tort claims acts with strict requirements — including formal notice deadlines that in some states are 90 days or less. Missing that deadline can end an otherwise valid case, so speak with an attorney quickly when a public facility is involved.
How long do we have to file a drowning lawsuit?+
Deadlines vary by state. Many states allow two or three years for injury and wrongful-death claims, public-entity claims can require formal notice within months — sometimes 90 days or less — and claims for injured children often follow special rules. Waiting costs evidence: witnesses move, footage gets erased, and pool conditions change. Confirm the deadline for your case with an attorney promptly.
Our loved one survived but suffered brain damage. Is that a claim?+
Yes. Near-drowning can cause hypoxic or anoxic brain injury with lifelong consequences requiring ongoing care. A claim can pursue the cost of that care, lost earning capacity, and the profound changes to the survivor's life — in addition to the medical bills that already exist.
Can you review a case outside New Jersey or New York?+
Yes. Our offices are in New Jersey and New York, but you can call us from anywhere in the United States. We review drowning cases from every state and, when it's required, work alongside counsel admitted in that state so your family's case is handled properly from start to finish.
What does a drowning accident lawyer cost?+
Nothing up front. We work on contingency: no fee unless we recover compensation for your family, and the consultation is always free and confidential.
The police or prosecutors are involved. Can we still bring a civil case?+
Yes. A civil claim is separate from any criminal investigation, with a different purpose and a different burden of proof. Your family's civil case can proceed whether or not charges are ever filed — and whatever happens in the criminal matter.