Due to the warmer weather, the months of June, July and August generally see an uptick in diving injuries. According to a decade-long study performed by the Shepherd Center, diving is the fourth leading cause of paralyzing spinal cord injury, with over 800 people a year suffering diving injuries. Diving injuries are generally sustained by young adult males and are totally preventable. Public pools, lakes and other swimming areas are required to have signs warning swimmers not to dive if the water is too shallow, but sadly many diving accidents occur in private swimming pools with no warning signs.
Facts about diving injuries:
- Most people would consider shallow water anything less than 3 feet, but many health agencies consider anything less than 9 feet too shallow to dive.
- You can break your neck diving in 5 foot deep water.
- Just because you have dived somewhere before, doesn’t mean it is safe to dive!
- 36% of diving injuries occur in swimming pools
Diving Injuries Can Cause Paralysis
When you dive, your body is like a torpedo cutting through the water. Diving leaves your head and neck unprotected, so if you hit the bottom of the pool at that high of speed you could shatter your C3,C4 or C5 spinal segments causing paralysis. This summer, a recent California high school graduate named Jake Javier broke his neck while diving into the pool at his home. The teen had just graduated from high school that day and had thrown a pool party in celebration. In his case, he has partial paralysis of his hands and upper arms and full paralysis of his lower body.
Injured After Diving?
Public pools and other public swimming areas are required to have signs warning users to the dangers of diving. If you were injured diving and the owner of the location had no signage of the danger diving could cause you, our Kansas City injury lawyer may be able to help you recover compensation for your injuries. Spinal cord injuries can lead to enormous medical and rehabilitation bills, that can leave your family under financial strain. Get the compensation you need to move forward after your injury.
Call to speak with an attorney from Presley & Presley, LLC. today.