Legal Question in Personal Injury in Washington

I am part owner of a small (1.5 acre) shallow man-made pond. The pond receives and exchanges salt water through a tidal gate. The pond also receives fresh water through piping from adjoining neighbors roofs. There are also a number of septic fields within 50 ft of the edge of the pond.

The pond growth a variety of algae.

Am I liable for health claims or injury due to the unprotected tidal gate, anthropogenic debris (broken glass, construction materials, etc.) that gets thrown into the pond or from infections incurred from microorganisms in that might grow in the lake?


Asked on 8/27/09, 4:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

In order to give you an answer that you can depend on, as much as you may hate to read this, you really should hire an attorney to go over all the details of your situation and provide you with a written evaluation of what you should be doing.

That said, I can generally answer that YES, you may be liable for injury caused as a result of what happens in your pond, if it is reasonably foreseeable that these injuries could occur, and that you have a duty to do something to mitigate those injuries or the threat of those injuries. For example, if covering the pond were an option that reduces the chance of injury to 0.001% and leaving it uncovered raises the risk to 50%, and if covering the pond does not preclude the pond's purpose to you, then yes, I think you've got a big problem in the event someone can prove that your pond got them sick or somehow caused them injury.

Again, this comes down to you get what you pay for, and free advice on this site is a bit limited in that complex situations such as yours are very fact intensive and to be properly evaluated, require an attorney to go over your case in detail.

I highly recommend that you seek out local counsel and consult with them. The few hours worth of attorney's fees you invest will be well worth it. Best of luck to you.

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Answered on 9/02/09, 5:25 am


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