Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

The family of a high school student who nearly drowned in his high school pool during a mandatory swimming unit has filed a $10 million claim against the school district. The student was listed in school records as a "non-swimmer," but the physical education teacher made no effort to keep him from moving into the deep side of the pool, where he migrated while talking to other kids, although he stayed near the edge of the pool. Then, at one point, he sank to the bottom of the pool. When another student noticed that he was at the bottom of the pool, the teacher called all students out of the pool, but did not dive in to attempt to rescue him. Instead, she removed her warm-up suit and called for help on the radio. She only called the school security, not 911 emergency. Then she attempted to rescue him with the emergency pole.

The school security guards attempted to rescue the boy, but were unable to reach the bottom of the 12-foot pool. Finally a student was able to reach him and bring him up to where others could help him, but when he was raised to the surface, witnesses reported that his lips were blue and he was not breathing.

Although the boy survived, he suffered permanent brain damage. The parents filed a claim against the Milpitas Unified School District saying that the school and the physical education teacher "were profoundly incompetent, negligent, and grossly reckless" in supervising the class and the pool, which is the first step in filing a premises liability suit. Hopefully, this experience has at least taught the school that any physical education teacher supervising a swim class must be willing and able to dive in to rescue a drowning student.

If you or a loved one has suffered a tragic injury as a result of someone else's failure to properly supervise, maintain, or secure their property, please contact the experienced premises liability lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.