EspañolElementary Student At San Jose Based Harker School Died After Being Found Unresponsive In Pool
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA (August 5, 2023) – A Harker School student has tragically died after being found unresponsive in the pool of the San Jose based elementary school.
Santa Clara County officials are saying that the victim was in the summer program at Harker School, which serves as a k-12 college prep school. The student was found floating in a pool of the school’s lower campus for children from kindergarten to 5th grade.
Lifeguards and school nurses performed CPR until paramedics arrived. On Wednesday, the San Jose Police Department was notified that the child did not survive the accident.
Harker School canceled summer classes for a week following the death. The school’s website states that trained and certified life-guards are always present during summer school.
A full investigation remains ongoing at this time.
Liability For San Jose Elementary School Drowning Accidents
Drowning remains one of the leading causes of serious injury and death for children. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “More children ages 1–4 die from drowning than any other cause of death. For children ages 5–14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes.” There are a number of steps that schools should take in order to prevent drownings.
- Trained life-guards should be present any time that kids are in the water.
- Life-guards
- Schools should carefully regulate the flow of children in and out of any areas with swimming pools.
- Schools that accommodate small children should typically have fences around them.
A school could face civil liability if a child drowns in their care. Schools must properly monitor the children in their care. Consider, for example, Taylor v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 17 Cal. 2d 594 [110 P.2d 1044], “It is the duty of the school authorities to supervise at all times the conduct of the children on the school grounds and to enforce those rules and regulations necessary to their protection.” There are a number of ways that school officials may have acted negligently and contributed to a drowning.
- A swimming pool may have had no gate guards to prevent unmonitored access into the pool.
- Life-guards may not have been present at the deep end of the pool. Typically, large swimming pools should have life-guards at both ends of the pool.
- The life-guards monitoring a pool could have been distracted by their phones or conversations with other people.
- Life-guards may not have performed CPR correctly.
The vast majority of drownings are preventable and involve some amount of human error. If a child is already unresponsive by the time life-guards intervene, this is typically a sign that they were not paying adequate attention to the pool in the first place. The family of any child that died in a school drowning may have legal recourse through a civil claim. It is crucial that all evidence related to the incident is properly preserved.
Investigating San Jose Elementary School Drowning Accidents
We at the Carrillo Law Firm, LLP extend our deepest condolences to the family of the child that died at Harker School. Any person that may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. There are so many questions that need to be answered. Were life-guards present at the time of the incident? Was the child being monitored before they went into the pool?
Do you need more information about an accident at the Harker School in San Jose? Our team of school safety advocates are here to answer any questions that you may have. We care deeply that parents are aware of their rights and that those rights are being protected. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any accident we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at 626-799-9375.
