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Abstract
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Aquatic specialists monitor published drowning and spinal-cord injury reports annually and integrate the information into their teaching, lifeguarding protocols, and planning. Aquatic professionals should be aware that the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) estimated that approximately 150,553 people sustained injuries in swimming pools in 2005 (Consumer Product Safety Review, summer 2006, p. 3). Furthermore, the National Safety Council (2006) found drown- ing to be the "second leading cause of injury death for children and adolescents ages 2-4, 6-7, 9 and 11-16" (p. 14). The council also reported 3,447 deaths from drowning in 2005; 80% were males, 20% were females.
With the onslaught of today's media, the filing of cases and the decisions of the courts are having a substantial impact on aquatics and on sport in general. For example, the removal of diving boards, purported to be in response to litigation, is but one of these issues. There is only one published study, however, that analyzed court decisions regarding this serious aspect of aquatics. Gabrielsen and Spivey (1990) analyzed the decisions of the courts, as well as incidents that were the subject of potential litigation.
In this study we investigated published courts of appeals' decisions involving headfirst entry into water as a sport or recreational pursuit (1990-2000). We identi- fied individuals who became paraplegic or quadriplegic, were severely injured, or perished as a result of moving headfirst into known or unknown waters, as well as the activities that led to their individual incidents. We also identified successful and unsuccessful plaintiffs in a court of law. We then tried to compare demographics with the facts ascertained from the court decisions.
RESULTS of this research will enhance existing efforts to make the aquatic environment safe, will acquaint aquatic managers with an understanding of the results of litigation, and will provide the aquatic community with the knowledge of headfirst water-entry litigation.
Language: en |