Courtesy of FacebookShaunakaye Williams

NEWARK — The 16-year-old Newark girl found dead at a hotel pool on a high school
field trip to Southern California could not swim, according to her mother.

Shaunakaye Williams, who flew with her West Side High School classmates
to Long Beach to compete in a robotics team, died in an apparent drowning Friday. Shaunakaye’s friends had pulled her from the water and were attempting to resuscitate her when emergency officials arrived, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.

Paula Watson, Williams’ mother, said her daughter could not swim, and she is not sure why her daughter would have gone in a pool at all.

“She is not a swimmer,” Watson said. “Why would she go in so deep when she knows she cannot swim?”

Williams was a junior at West Side. She had traveled to Long Beach to compete in the LOGO MOTION Regional Competition at the FIRST Robotics Competition at the Long Beach Arena, which ran from Thursday through Saturday.

When a swimming pool drowning or injury occurs, the following causes of action may be possible. A cause of action is theory of liability, or a reason the owner, operator or manufacturer is responsible.

Premises Liability: Owners are responsible for hazards on their land. The extent to which they are responsible depends on the “classification” of the injured person; for example, different duties are owed to invitees, licensees and trespassers (many states have different classifications). A pool can qualify as a hazard when it has dangers that the owner knew or should have known about. Therefore, owners must take reasonable steps to make sure  their pools are safe.

Product Liability: Sometimes pools or pool equipment may be defective Some type of defects including design defects (the pool was incorrectly designed), manufacturing defects ( the pool’s design was correct but it was improperly constructed); and failure to warn (for example, lack of signs about the pool’s depth, causing someone to jump into a shallow area).

Negligence: Owners and operators of pools have a duty to act reasonably in their ownership and maintenance of the pool and it’s surroundings. If they are negligent by failing to have lifeguards on duty, failing to properly train lifeguards, or failing to keep the pool safe, they may be responsible for pool-related injuries or drownings.

What to do if you or a loved one suffered from a swimming pool injury?

Swimming pool injuries may involve injuries from falls, near drownings causing serious brain injury, and death. If you live in California and believe you may have a claim for a swimming pool injury, call The Law Offices of Gary a Kessler at (877) 465-8711 for a free consultation or fill out our online confidential consultation form at garyakesslerlaw.com on your potential pool injury claim.