The case of the month involves a typical back yard swimming
pool. It was an in-ground, plastered concrete, free-form
shaped pool, measuring about 16 feet wide and 32 feet long. It
had the usual hardscape walkways around it, and it was
properly fenced, properly maintained and properly cleaned.
And what backyard swimming pool would be complete without a
diving board? This pool had a typical springy diving board,
mounted at approximately knee height at the deep end of the
pool. The "jump board" was installed by the pool contractor
when the pool was built a number of years earlier.
True to the stereotype, a pool party was in progress on the
hot afternoon of the incident. There were lots of people, lots
of food, lots of laughter, lots of adult beverages, and lots
of showing off. One of the stars of the show dived off
of the jump board 4-5 times to demonstrate his skills. He then
decided to do a back flip into the water. After entering
the water, he plunged down to the bottom and hit his head.
Instead of his usual quick return to the surface, he remained
at the bottom of the pool, unconscious. The startled
bystanders quickly pulled him out of the pool and called for
the paramedics. The paramedics transported him to the local
hospital.
After appropriate tests, the doctors diagnosed him as
inebriated, accompanied by a concussion and a severe neck
injury. GEI was called in to evaluate the cause of the
accident. While the water was clean and clear at the time of
incident, the pool had essentially been locked down and
abandoned after the accident. At the time of our inspection,
the pool water was green with algae and the bottom could not
be seen. Also, the water level was approximately 10 inches
below the normal level required for the pool filter to
function.
There are controlling standards in pool design and
construction. In this case, NSPI-5 2003 (National Spa and Pool
Institute) governed. This standard applies to permanently
installed residential in-ground swimming pools intended for
noncommercial use as a swimming pool by not more than three
owner families and their guests and exceeding 24 inches in
water depth and having a volume over 3,250 gallons. It covers
specifications for new construction and rehabilitation of
residential in-ground swimming pools and includes design,
equipment (including diving boards), operation and
installation. While the pool bottom contours were not visible,
our expert was able to accurately measure the contours using
special equipment he designed for this occasion. What he found
was the pool bottom contours did not meet the requirements of
NSPI-5 for "Minimum Water Envelopes" for pools using a jump
board. Basically, the pool was too shallow to safely permit
the kinds of dives that occur from a jump board.
Accordingly, the homeowner's insurance company filed a
subrogation claim against the pool contractor. The
contractor's insurance company then paid for the medical costs
of the injured diver and for the removal of the diving board.
Copyright Garrett-Engineers, 2008
