A tragedy was barely avoided earlier this week when a 7-year-old boy was saved from a potentially deadly drowning accident in New York City. The boy was enjoying a day at the beach with family in The Bronx when he slipped below the waves. An alert Good Samaritan spotted the boy floating off the shore at Orchard Beach and rushed in the water to save him.
The boy was pulled out of the water lifeless and unconscious. He wasn’t breathing at the time of his rescue but began to do so on his own shortly after being pulled from the water. Rescue crews arrived within minutes of the near deadly drowning accident in the Bronx and rushed the boy to a nearby hospital for observation.
Even though he was rescued from the water, the danger of “dry drowning” still exists. Victims of near-drowning accidents can often drown hours or even days after they’re initially rescued because of water trapped within the lungs.
Orchard Beach is a part of Pelham Bay Park, New York City’s largest public park (nearly twice the size of Central Park). Lifeguards are on duty for the protection of bathers every day from 10:00AM to 6:00 PM but New York City law concerning lifeguard liability can be a bit tricky. While publically accessible pools in hotels are required to have a lifeguard on duty at all times, beaches-especially public beaches-fall under a different category. However, that doesn’t necessarily absolve the lifeguard (or the City of New York) from a potential insurance claim or lawsuit in the event of an accidental drowning or near-drowning in New York City.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a swimming accident, contact an experience New York City drowning accident attorney today.