A pool day should never end in the emergency room. When a child drowns or nearly drowns at a hotel, condo, or community pool — or a missing fence and an unwatched gate let it happen — the people who owned and ran that pool may owe your family answers and money. We help you find out.
Robert DiStefano has practiced Florida personal-injury law for more than 40 years. He takes these cases himself, on contingency — no fee unless we recover for you.
If your child drowned or nearly drowned, or someone you love was hurt in the water, a Fort Lauderdale pool injury lawyer can tell you whether the pool's owner did something wrong. Most of these tragedies are not freak accidents. They trace back to a broken gate latch, a fence that was missing or too short, a drain with no proper cover, a lifeguard who wasn't there, or a pool deck so slick that a fall became a head injury. Those are choices a property owner made — and Florida law holds owners to real safety rules.
We handle drownings and near-drownings at the places people swim across Broward County: oceanfront hotels and resorts, the thousands of condominium and homeowners-association pools, and public and community pools run by cities and parks. We also handle the quieter cases that don't make the news — the toddler who slipped through an unlatched gate at a neighbor's house, or the swimmer who hit an unmarked shallow end.
A near-drowning is not "lucky." When the brain goes without oxygen, even for a few minutes, the result can be a lasting anoxic brain injury — seizures, loss of speech, and a lifetime of care. Those cases are some of the most serious we see, and they need a lawyer who understands both the medicine and the safety law. That's the work we do.
Pool injury claims are built on a mix of Florida's specific pool-safety statute and the broader premises-liability rules every property owner has to follow. Here are the ones that matter most.
Fla. Stat. Ch. 515
Florida's pool-safety law requires every residential pool to have at least one approved safety feature — a four-foot barrier or fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate, an approved pool cover, exit alarms on doors leading to the pool, or self-latching devices on those doors. When a child gets to a pool through a missing or broken barrier, that failure is often the heart of the case.
Common law — duty by visitor status
Florida still decides many premises cases by who you were on the property. A paying hotel or pool guest is an invitee, and the owner owes the highest duty: keep the pool reasonably safe and warn of hidden dangers like a broken drain or a sudden drop-off. Children get extra protection — a pool can be an "attractive nuisance" the owner must guard against.
Fla. Stat. § 768.0706 enacted 2023
For pools at multifamily properties, where security and supervision are part of the claim, a 2023 law gives owners a presumption against liability only if they meet a list of safety measures. If the community skipped those steps, that presumption is off the table — which can matter in a condo or apartment pool case.
Fla. Stat. § 768.81 amended 2023
Florida reduces your recovery by your share of the blame, and a 2023 change bars recovery entirely if you are found more than 50% at fault. Pool owners often argue the swimmer or parent was careless. We push back hard, because shifting blame is exactly how these defendants try to pay nothing.
This page provides general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutes and case law change; your specific case requires a consultation.
Broward is built for water. That also means thousands of pools, and a lot of them are run by people who cut corners on safety. The kind of pool changes who is responsible — and who has insurance to pay.
When you call our office, you reach a firm where the founding attorney actually handles the work. Robert DiStefano has spent more than 40 years on Florida injury cases. He will sit with your family, look at what the pool owner did and didn't do, and pursue the people responsible — the hotel, the condo association, the property manager, or the homeowner's insurer.
You pay nothing up front. We work on contingency, which means no fee unless we recover for you. The case review is free, confidential, and same-day. For drowning and near-drowning cases, the proof you need — pool logs, gate and fence records, inspection reports, camera footage — can disappear fast, so the sooner we start, the better.
A near-drowning isn't a near miss. When the brain loses oxygen, the cost can last a lifetime — and so should the case that pays for it.
Tell us what happened by phone or form. We listen, answer your questions, and tell you honestly whether you have a case.
We move quickly to preserve pool records, barrier and gate maintenance logs, inspection history, and any video before it's gone.
Medical bills, future care, lost income, and the harm to your family — we build the case and take it as far as it needs to go.
Pool injuries often overlap with other premises claims. If your case started at a resort, see our work on hotel and resort accidents. If it involved a waterpark, slide, or recreation area, read about amusement and recreation injuries. Not sure where yours fits? Reach out and we'll point you the right way.
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“The best lawyer in South Florida. Thank you DiStefano for all the hard work that you and your team have done to get me amazing results.”
Taravia Google
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Paulavia Google
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“Mr. DiStefano is the best! Kept me up to date with everything, and his paralegal Michelle also kept us informed. Happy with my settlement — I highly recommend him.”
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Free, confidential, same-day case review. No fee unless we recover for you. The sooner we start, the more we can protect.
(954) 572-8000