On July 22, 2012, a 2 year-old girl walked out of her house and wandered into her next-door neighbor’s backyard where she climbed up the ladder of an above-ground pool. Some neighbors would later say they saw the toddler was standing on top of the ladder, alone, kicking her feet and singing as she splashed the water. She would later be pulled from the neighbor’s pool and she was unresponsive and not breathing. The ambulance responded and attempted to revive the victim. She was taken to the emergency room where she was pronounced dead. The owner of the above-ground pool was cited for two city ordinances for failing to obtain a city permit for the above-ground pool and failing to erect a fenced enclosure around the above-ground pool. The owner went on a weekend vacation and did not remove the ladder before leaving. During the course of Attorney Brendan J. Noonan’s investigation he learned that the triple-decker house next-door had over 9 children living in it and that on several occasions neighborhood children had used the neighbor’s pool without permission. This proved important in our claim under the Child Trespasser Statute, G.L. c. 231, § 85Q.

Case Results: The claim was settled for the policy maximum.