What Safety Precautions Should be Followed as to Swimming in Florida Lakes and Waterways?

Florida is a destination location for tourists, visitors, and families during Spring break and other times of the year. In most instances, a day outing to a beach, lake, river, ocean, or swimming pool is filled with fun and good times. However, at times, a simple day of fun and swimming can turn tragic when there is an accidental drowning. Many drowning incidents are preventable with planning, supervision, and other safety precautions. It is not just infants and toddlers who are at risk for drowning incidents. School aged children, high schoolers, and even college students are at risk for drowning on any given day and at any given moment. Because of this, it is important to establish a buddy system for each swimmer and, when possible, have an adult monitor and supervise especially if there are no lifeguards in the area. Parameters and limitations should be set as to where each swimmer can swim and how far out each swimmer / child should go. In addition, it is helpful to know the depths and drop offs when swimming in natural water ways like oceans, lakes, rivers, and canals. Of course, it is also helpful to know the depths and layouts of swimming pool areas as well. Even with safety precautions in place, some drownings still take place because there is always some risk associated with swimming.

In Florida, a drowning was recently reported that involved 12 year old girl who was on a Spring Break outing. The Associated Press and the Marion County Sheriff's Office reported that Zakiyah Dowdy drowned while swimming at Lake Weir. She was with her cousin - Joyisa Reid - and other family members at the time. It was reported that this area of the lake had a steep drop off approximatley 15 miles from the shore which the family and swimmers may have not been familiar with. Reid, who also had some trouble in the water, was rescued. Tragically, however, the family and others could not locate Dowdy in the water. A rescue team later arrives on the scene and located the body of Dowdy.

The death of Zakiyah Dowdy was certainly a great loss for her family, friends, neighborhood, and community. See Drowning of 12 Year Old Girl Reported in Marion County, Florida (Lake Weir).

When a child suffers serious personal injuries or dies, a parent often times has many issues and challenges to deal with. Many parents will relay on the support of family, friends, neighbors and the community while dealing with the initial shock and the grief process. It is important to have support during these troubling times. Thereafter, the parents may be in need of legal advice as issues that may arise including medical bills, funeral bills, insurance, liability, and other issues. A Florida Child Injury Lawyer provides advice, consultation, and legal representation to parents dealing with these and other issues.

The book titled - The ABCs of Child Injury - Legal Rights of the Injured Child - What Every Parent Should Know - has chapters on Damages / Compensation, Water Park and Swimming Related Injuries, and other topics. Get his book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.