August 5, 2026
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States. In fact, more children in this age group die from drowning than from any other single cause. For kids ages 5 to 14, it ranks second, trailing only motor vehicle crashes. Most drownings in the youngest age group happen in home swimming pools, not lakes or oceans, which puts Houston’s apartment complexes, backyard pools, and hotel properties squarely at the center of the problem.
Under Texas premises liability law, property owners, including those who operate pools, apartment complexes, and hotels, owe duties of care to visitors on their property, the scope of which depends on the visitor’s legal status.
If your child drowned or was hurt in a Houston-area pool this summer, you may have a legal claim against whoever was responsible for keeping that pool safe. Here’s what actually determines whether a pool accident becomes a valid legal case.
How Many Houston-Area Children Are Involved in Drowning Accidents?
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas tracked 103 fatal child drownings statewide in 2024. Harris County, home to Houston, consistently ranks among the counties with the highest drowning rates in the state, reflecting:
- The number of pools across the Houston metropolitan area is dense.
- Apartment complex pools in Houston, particularly in high-density rental corridors, are a well-documented component of the region’s pool drowning risk, with peer-reviewed research showing that half of Harris County’s child pool drownings occurred in apartment pools (PMC/NIH).
- Hotel properties like Marriott, Hyatt Regency, and other hotel brands offer pool access to their guests. Hotel properties throughout the Houston area, including locations along the I-10 corridor and in Northwest Houston, are part of the documented pool-drowning risk landscape, as reflected in Houston Health Department inspection records and reported incidents.
- Personal backyard pools or public pools at local parks throughout the suburbs.
Non-fatal pool incidents carry their own long-term toll. Survivors of near-drowning events can suffer permanent neurological damage. Even pool accidents that don’t involve submersion, like a slip on a wet deck or a dive into shallow water, regularly produce traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage.
*Disclaimer: This blog is for informational and educational purposes only. Reading this blog does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Any referenced case results do not mean that future case results will be the same, and results are not guaranteed.
What Should You Do After a Pool Accident?
The steps you take immediately after an accident determine how strong your claim becomes later.
- Call 911 and get medical care right away, even for injuries that seem minor at first
- Photograph the pool area, including any missing gate latches, fence gaps, or broken equipment
- Get the names and contact information of witnesses, lifeguards, or staff present at the time
- Request incident reports from the property or hotel management
- Avoid discussing fault with the property owner’s insurance company before speaking to an attorney
Acting quickly protects evidence that property managers sometimes repair or replace within days of an incident.
What Actually Prevents Pool Accidents?
A handful of safety measures separate a pool that’s reasonably safe from one that isn’t, and property owners in Houston are expected to know the difference.
One of the most important steps a pool owner or operator can take is to erect and maintain four-sided isolation fencing.
- Four-sided fencing creates a barrier that separates the pool from both the house and the yard.
- This type of fencing reduces a child’s drowning risk by 83 percent compared to three-sided fencing that uses the house as one wall, according to research cited by the CDC.
- Self-closing, self-latching gates matter just as much as the fence itself, since a propped-open gate defeats the purpose entirely.
- Working drain covers prevent entrapment, a less common but genuinely dangerous hazard when maintenance gets skipped.
None of these measures is complicated or expensive, which is exactly why their absence tends to look like negligence rather than bad luck.
Who’s Actually Responsible When a Pool Accident Happens?
Responsibility usually traces back to whoever controlled the pool at the time of the accident, and that isn’t always the obvious party.
- Homeowners, when a private backyard pool doesn’t meet basic barrier requirements;
- Apartment complex owners and property management companies, when a shared pool lacks proper fencing or supervision;
- Hotels and resorts, when guest pools go unmaintained or unsupervised, and
- Pool maintenance contractors can mishandle chemicals or perform equipment repairs, creating hazards.
More than one party can share fault in a single case, particularly when a property management company outsources pool maintenance to a third-party contractor, and neither catches an obvious defect.
Contact Our Drowning Accident Attorneys at Gustin Law Firm Today
Pool accidents move fast, and so does the property owner’s insurance company once a claim comes in. If your family was affected by a drowning, near-drowning, or pool-related injury anywhere in the Houston area, the Houston swimming pool accident team at Gustin Law Firm can investigate what went wrong and hold the responsible party accountable. Our attorneys also handle the premises liability claims that often accompany these cases, including negligent security and inadequate maintenance.
You pay nothing unless we recover for you, though court costs and litigation expenses may still be deducted from any gross recovery. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
Contact Gustin Law Firm, with its principal office in Houston, Texas, at (713) 491-4792 for a free consultation!