Federal safety officials are investigating the safety of pool and spa drain covers and whether the testing procedures used to determine the flow rating of these covers is adequate. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued a consumer alert providing information about its investigation, which revealed that the testing protocols used by some of the labs that test these covers may have been improper. As a result, the covers could be defective and pose a serious pool or spa entrapment hazard to children and adults. CPSC is issuing subpoenas to three labs asking for information about the testing procedures and the results of such testing. A public hearing on the matter has been set for April 5.
Congress enacted the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act in 2007, which requires all public pools and spas to install new anti-entrapment drain covers and other secondary devices or systems in order to be compliant with this law. Any new pool or spa constructed in homes since early 2009 should also have these new covers.
According to CPSC’s statistics, there were reports of 83 incidents of entrapment in the United States between the years 1998 and 2008. Of those, seven out of 11 fatalities occurred in residential pools or spas, as well as 38 out of 69 injuries. Nearly 75 percent of pool entrapment victims were 15 years old or younger. About 38 percent were between the ages of 5 and 9.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of these defective covers, the manufacturer of the cover could be held liable for your injuries and losses. The experienced Arizona defective product liability lawyers of the Breyer Law Offices P.C. work diligently to provide quality legal representation to our clients and help them obtain fair compensation. Call our law offices at 602-978-6400 for a no-cost consultation.
