Club Westside Child Drowning Lawsuit Filed By Sneed & Mitchell LLP

Houston Drowning Injury Lawyers

The Houston Drowning Injury Lawyers at Sneed & Mitchell LLP have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of the 7-year-old girl who tragically drowned during the celebration of a birthday party at Club Westside on Sunday, August 25, 2024. 

According to a lawsuit recently filed by the firm in the District Court of Harris County, the family is seeking damages from Club Westside. Attorney Brit Mitchell has released the following statement. “Our hearts break for this family. We are passionate about seeking justice for this grieving family and committed to finding out how this tragedy could have been prevented.” 

Witnesses describe the scene as shocking and heart-wrenching, with one woman screaming for help as she pointed to the victim who was discovered lifeless in the resort-styled children’s pool. According to statements obtained by ABC News, two lifeguards were present at the time of the drowning. Despite having these on-duty employees, no supervision or response actions were enough to save the young girl, who was unable to be resuscitated poolside, or later at Texas Children's Hospital West Campus. 

If you were a witness and have any information regarding this tragedy, please contact the team here at Sneed & Mitchell LLP by calling (866) 434-0014 today.

Club Website, located at 1200 Wilcrest Dr, Houston, TX 77042.

What Is Club Westside? 

Club Westside is an expansive 16.5 aces members only athletic club in Houston, Texas offering its more than 100 classes a week, access to an expansive fitness center, Sports Zone, waterpark, a Lazy River, and more. Although the club offers amenities for all ages, the activities designed around children are numerous and include a six-lane bowling alley, free arcade, two story indoor climb zone, and exotic animals exhibit, and a large resort-styled kids pool that includes a slide, which is where our child-client was swimming at the time of the incident. 

How Did a Child Drown at Club Westside's Waterpark? 

Our attorneys and experts are currently investigating what factors contributed to causing the tragedy. Based on the initial police report and witness statements, at around 4:00pm on Sunday there were two lifeguards on duty and overseeing the children’s resort-styled pool, when a female patron spotted the distressed 7-year-old child and screamed for help. 

Club rules allow parents to swim with their children in the waterpark, so the area might have been congested at the time this occurred. Some guests were also celebrating a birthday at the time of the incident. One witness, who purports to be a frequent visitor, stated that there was no “Badge Access” to the pool on the date of incident, and that the number of people present made for a more chaotic day than they were accustomed to during Summer months. 

Drowning accidents can occur quickly. It can take as few as 20 seconds for a child to drown, so resuscitation techniques like performing CPR must be done immediately in order to prevent oxygen deprivation, brain injury, or worse. In this circumstance, assistance was much too late. CPR was attempted poolside and emergency responders at Texas Children’s Hospital also attempted to resuscitate the young child, but she had swallowed an overbearing amount of water while submerged. 

How Did a Drowning Happen In The Presence of Club Westside Lifeguards?

Although lifeguards have a vital role in ensuring the safety of swimmers, accidental drownings often occur in their presence. Within the Club Policies posted on Club Westside's website, Lifeguard Coverage at the pool in question extends from 10am to 8pm on weekends. 

With lifeguards present at Club Westside, more questions arise, some of which include: 

• What actions the lifeguards were engaged in at the time of the incident? 

• Were the lifeguards properly scanning the pool? 

• Were there enough lifeguards present for this specific pool? 

Drowning accidents and child injury claims involve exploring several overlapping areas of responsibility. In certain cases, many aquatic drowning cases involve a lack of training, which results in insufficient supervision. Other times, well trained lifeguards might be charged with overseeing an unsecured pool, which might lack proper safety measures, allowing for too many swimmers. 

Unsafe conditions such as slippery surfaces, unmarked depths, and the presence of dangerous objects could create situations beyond the scope of a lifeguard’s duties and obligations. These situations all create danger zones and can allow preventable drownings to occur and go undetected, until it's too late. 

The Lazy River Located at Club Westside.

A Waterpark is a High-Risk Area for Aquatic Drowning Incidents

Although aquatic drowning incidences can happen at any location with a body of water, there are special situations that are considered "High-Risk" due to their inherent dangers. The list of High-Risk areas includes waterparks, which cause more than 4,200 injuries per year that require emergency room care.

Proper management of waterparks and recreational centers is necessary to ensure that the amenities are safe for visitors. Situations of company negligence, product liability issues, and willful misconduct are common legal theories used when litigations safety violations and injuries that occur within U.S. waterparks. Accidents within the parks are frequently caused by faulty ride design, improper warning signs, and subpar maintenance standards. Managing employee expectations is another major hurdle when running amusement parks. Without proper management, waterpark operators will sometimes knowingly ignore or recklessly disregard safety standards, which puts visitors at risk of serious injury.

Houston Child Injury Lawyers with Millions Won: Call 1-866-434-0014 for a Free Consult

Sneed & Mitchell LLP is committed to diligently pursuing justice on behalf of the family. Our team has extensive experience litigating wrongful death claims and strongly believe that aquatic drowning incidents that occur within recreational waterparks are preventable. Lead Trial Attorneys Brit Mitchell, Niles Sneed, and Emily Vechan are taking into account every detail of what transpired and may have caused, or contributed in causing, this death to occur.

If you were present during this incident, or have any details you believe would aid in our efforts, please contact our Child Injury Lawyers today by calling (866) 434-0014. Our team would greatly appreciate your time and consideration, and all consultations with our team will be kept confidential.