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A kid drowned in the pool at our rental. How screwed are we?

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Dayanara774

New member
What is the name of your state? We live in Illinois, but the that’s not where this happened. The rental was in California.


It was a week long Airbnb rental. Is this on us because we rented the place, on the homeowner, or on the kids parents? The place doesn’t have a pool fence and the kid was outside alone when it happened. What’s the likelihood we’ll be sued and if we are what the likelihood we would lose? What like how much could they get from me? We don’t have much in savings, but we own the house we live in and now I’m freaking out that we’re going to lose it.
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? We live in Illinois, but the that’s not where this happened. The rental was in California.


It was a week long Airbnb rental. Is this on us because we rented the place, on the homeowner, or on the kids parents? The place doesn’t have a pool fence and the kid was outside alone when it happened. What’s the likelihood we’ll be sued and if we are what the likelihood we would lose? What like how much could they get from me? We don’t have much in savings, but we own the house we live in and now I’m freaking out that we’re going to lose it.
How old was the child and where were the parents of the child?

Of the three possibly responsible for the child’s death in the pool - parent, owner of rental, you lining up rental - you would likely have less liability than the other two, based strictly on the limited amount of information you have provided.
 
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Dayanara774

New member
How old was the child and where were the parents of the child?

Of the three possibly responsible for the child’s death in the pool - parent, owner of rental, you lining up rental - you would likely have less liability than the other two, based strictly on the limited amount of information you have provided.
I would guess around 5. They were inside with the rest of us.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I would guess around 5. They were inside with the rest of us.
California has a Swimming Pool Safety Act that requires certain safety precautions are taken to prevent accidents like the one you speak about here. The homeowner does not appear to have been in compliance with the law.

https://casetext.com/statute/california-codes/california-health-and-safety-code/division-104-environmental-health/part-10-recreational-safety/chapter-5-safe-recreational-water-use/article-25-the-swimming-pool-safety-act

I am sorry to hear about the death of the child.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
I would guess around 5. They were inside with the rest of us.
The parents were inside with you while their child was outside unsupervised.

I'm not seeing any liability on your part. Besides, you presumably have homeowners insurance, the liability section of which extends to your activities away from home. You are protected in the event you are sued.
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
What’s the likelihood we’ll be sued and if we are what the likelihood we would lose?
I'm going the contrarian here. My answer: it depends.

Yes, the homeowner is responsible for making sure that their pool is not an attractive nuisance. And yes, if they are going to rent their place out, there are some other precautions that they should take.

Yes, the parents of the child are responsible for making sure that the child has adult supervision in general, and even more so around water.

However, none of us know the particulars of your specific situation. I think only a lawyer with all the details could really give you an accurate answer.
 
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Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
The parents would find themselves in an awkward sitution should they initiate lawsuit over this. The fact that they were there but didn't have their kids supervised pretty much guarantees they'd be considered at least partly responsible for their child's death. There is no way they could prevent that fact from being brought out in the trial, and the attorneys for any other parties sued will hammer that point every chance they get. There is a chance you might be named as a defendant in the lawsuit; typically the first complaint filed will name anyone who might possibly have some liability as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, for you to be liable, the parents or the estate of the child will have to show that you were somehow negligent and that it was that negligence that was the cause of the drowning. If the plaintiff can't point to anything that would be negligence on your part then even if you are named in the complaint, you'd likely get dismissed as a defendant early on. If they can put some kind of theory how you'd be negligent, even a weak one, then you'd end up having to defend the claim. How far the claim would go in that circumstance is impossible to guess without knowing what theory of negligence they'd put forward and what evidence they have that would support it.

I suggest you notify your homeowner's insurance company of what happened. It likely has a duty to defend you in this matter, and your policy likely requires that you notify the insurer promptly of anything that may trigger that duty. If you delay, the insurer might use that as an excuse to deny all coverage. If contacted by anyone about this tragic accident, don't talk at all about what happened that night and refer them to your attorney or tell them you'll get a lawyer and provide your lawyer's information later. If you don't already have a lawyer from the insurer, promptly notify the insurer of the contact so it can deal with it.

Out of the three persons who might be liable for this, I see you as at the bottom of the list. That doesn't mean that a jury might not find you partially liable somehow. But it does mean that the owner of the Air BnB and the parents are likely to get hit with most, if not all, of the damages awarded out of any lawsuit.
 

zddoodah

Active Member
Your post is almost completely lacking in clear facts. However, it sounds like you, as the renter, rented the premises through AirBNB and that the family of the child who drowned stayed with you. Is that correct?

If so, absent some compelling facts, I can't see any reason why you'd have liability here.

As others have noted, however, you still might get sued, so you absolutely should put your homeowner's insurer on notice.
 

Dayanara774

New member
Your post is almost completely lacking in clear facts. However, it sounds like you, as the renter, rented the premises through AirBNB and that the family of the child who drowned stayed with you. Is that correct?

If so, absent some compelling facts, I can't see any reason why you'd have liability here.

As others have noted, however, you still might get sued, so you absolutely should put your homeowner's insurer on notice.
They weren’t staying with us. They were only there during the day when we had a little gathering of old friends. I don’t know if that makes a difference.
 

quincy

Senior Member
They weren’t staying with us. They were only there during the day when we had a little gathering of old friends. I don’t know if that makes a difference.
You should give the parents the name of the Airbnb property owner, if you haven’t already. The owner of the property should have insurance on the rental house but there might be a problem with the insurer paying a claim if the property is in violation of the pool safety law. There potentially could be a claim against Airbnb, as well.

Many homeowners policies will not cover short term vacation rentals so you will want to discuss your possible liability with your own insurer to see what is and is not covered.
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
They weren’t staying with us. They were only there during the day when we had a little gathering of old friends. I don’t know if that makes a difference.
I'm curious. Were there any additional conditions/restrictions in your paperwork for the rental?

Swimming pools are so well known as potential drowning hazards that I am surprised that someone would rent out a place with a pool without trying to limit their exposure to liability.
 

zddoodah

Active Member
They weren’t staying with us. They were only there during the day when we had a little gathering of old friends. I don’t know if that makes a difference.
When did this incident occur? You said that you live in Illinois and the incident occurred in California, but you didn't tell us where the family of the child lives or where the property owner lives. Any lawsuit should be filed in California (where the statute of limitations is two years), but it's possible that the AirBNB rental agreement has something to say about this. Have these "old friends" of yours expressed any interest in pursuing litigation?
 

quincy

Senior Member
There are pool liability waivers that some Airbnb home owners will have their guests sign. These waivers do not prevent lawsuits and will not protect the homeowner from gross negligence.

I think the homeowner’s failure to have a secured pool will play a big role in any lawsuit the parents of the child decide to pursue.
 

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