A 2-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a barbecue party in Laguna on April 10. Elk Grove police say that the child went missing for several minutes before he was discovered floating facedown in the backyard pool.

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. on the 9100 block of Sage Glen Way.

Sacramento County coroners identified the victim as Christopher Ramirez of Sacramento.

“They do happen a few times a year,” Elk Grove police spokesperson Christopher Trim said about young child falling into Elk Grove pools. “Unfortunately, when they do happen, they typically they have a tragic result.”

He explained there were about 10 people in the house who were walking between the house and the backyard when the drowning occurred. It’s currently unknown how Ramirez ended up in the pool, police say.

A short, makeshift fence that was between one and two feet high was placed around the pool, Trim said.

CPR was attempted on Ramirez followed by more medical aid from Cosumnes paramedics who arrived to the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Trim said that no criminal charges were filed in the case.

He advises pool owners to install a fence around their pools that have an alarm in place, if they have young children or provide general pool access to children.

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 cla