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. Common sources of injuries at Nevada pool parties include:
- Unqualified or improperly trained lifeguards,
- Lifeguard negligence,
- Failure to call for medical assistance when needed,
- Slip-and-fall accidents,
- Inadequate security,
- Assault and battery by security guards or other guests,
- Alcohol poisoning or dehydration,
- Food poisoning, and
- Sexual battery or sexual assault.
The hotel venue or promoter of the pool party has legal responsibility to
- fix dangerous defects in the pool area,
- clean up slick and slippery surfaces,
- provide lifeguards and adequate security measures, and
- avoid chemicals or substances in the pool that could cause injury to patrons.
To help you better understand pool party lawsuits, our Nevada personal injury lawyers discuss, below:
- 1. Can I file a lawsuit if I am injured at a Las Vegas pool party?
- 2. Whom can I sue if I am injured at a pool party?
- 3. What damages can I recover?
- 4. What if I was partially to blame for my injury?
If you sustain swimming pool injuries, the property owner’s insurance company may have to pay for your medical expenses.
1. Can I file a lawsuit if I am injured at a Las Vegas pool party?
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.
1.1. Negligence by the hotel
Las Vegas hotels have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition for guests. This includes maintaining the pool area and providing adequate security, lighting and supervision.
If the pavement is cracked or there are misplaced sprinkler heads or other obstacles over which a patron can trip, the hotel – as the pool owner – may have premises liability under Nevada law. The same is true if there is a lack of supervision, such as having no lifeguards.
The hotel may also be liable 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
The good news with these types of injuries is that most hotels have significant policies of insurance that apply to injuries caused by hotel negligence in Nevada.
1.2. Negligence by a hotel employee
You are also able to sue for damages at a Nevada pool party when your injuries are caused by employee negligence. Employees at hotel pools have a duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure that their actions do not harm you.
Common injuries caused by employee negligence at Las Vegas hotel pool parties include (without limitation):
- Drowning or near-drowning accidents,
- Food poisoning,
- Alcohol poisoning or dehydration,
- Slip-and-fall accidents due to wet or uneven surfaces in the pool area, and
- Injuries from tripping over negligently placed objects inside or outside the pool.2
1.3. 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.
Common intentional torts at Las Vegas pool parties include:
- Sexual assault or sexual battery,
- Assault and battery by security guards, bouncers, lifeguards or other guests, and
- Discrimination based on gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, age or disability.3
1.4. Strict liability for defective products
You may also be able to sue under Nevada’s strict liability law for defective products, even if no one was negligent.
Defective products that can cause dangerous conditions at pool parties include:
- Defective diving boards,
- Defective lighting in the pool area or underwater,
- Defective cement, and
- Defective hardware such as drains, jacuzzi jets and fences.4
Depending on the situation, swimming pool accidents can cause serious injuries to swimmers such as spinal cord injuries, brain damage and other head injuries / brain injuries.
2. Whom can I sue if I am injured at a pool party?
Nevada law allows you to sue the person who actually caused the injury. Though often, the hotel is a proper defendant as well, either because:
- An employee was negligent in carrying out their regular job duties;
- The hotel or promoter engaged in negligent hiring, retention or supervision of an employee; or
- The hotel or promoter engaged in a discriminatory practice under federal or Nevada law.
Our Las Vegas personal injury and accident lawyers offer consultations to help you determine who might be liable for your pool party injuries.
3. What damages can I recover?
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 egregious wrongdoing, you may even be entitled to recovery under Nevada’s punitive damages law.5
If your loved one died at a pool party, our Las Vegas premises liability lawyers may be able to help you to recover medical bills and funeral expenses through a Nevada wrongful death lawsuit.6
4. What if I was partially to blame for my injury?
You may be able to get compensation for pool party damages in Nevada, even if you were partially at fault.
Under Nevada’s comparative negligence (shared fault) law, if you are no more than 50% responsible for your injury, you are still entitled to a partial recovery through a liability claim.7
Injured at a pool party in Las Vegas? Call us for help…
Contact our law firm for legal advice. Our Las Vegas swimming pool accident attorneys provide case evaluations.
Have you been injured in a private pool or a public pool in Nevada? Our Las Vegas injury and accident attorneys can help you determine whether someone else was liable for your pool party injury and how much compensation you may be entitled to.
Call us or fill out the form on this page to schedule your consultation on your legal options for your personal injury claim.
Time may be running out on your right to bring a personal injury case, so don’t wait – contact us today. The statute of limitations in Nevada accident cases can be as short as two (2) years, so contact us right away to start working on your case.
See 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).
Our attorneys also pursue the highest settlements possible for car accidents and dog bites.
Legal References
- See Humphries v. New York-New York Hotel & Casino, (2017) 133 Nev. 607, 403 P.3d 358; see
- 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