On Wednesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a pool-safety rule in a 3-2 vote, according to news sources. If this new rule is implemented, owners of thousands of public pools all over the USA will be required to buy extra safety equipment for their pools to make sure that their pools are actually safe for use.
According to the new rule, a pool cannot keep relying on just pool drain covers for prevention of downing of children or to secure them in case of pool drain suction. Just one day prior to Memorial Day, a recall was announced by the commission in which they stated that one million drain covers have to be recalled because they were defective.
The new ruling reverses a 2007 ruling that some pools with drain covers were exempt from some regulations.
Some members of the commission believe that public pools will close as a result of the additional cost the extra safety measures will incur, but others believe that the new measures are necessary.
As a Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer, I am glad to see that more safety measures are being considered. In my experience as a personal injury lawyer, I know that prevention is key in protecting lives, especially those of children.
