Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

Pool injury

My son recently attended an end of the season soccer party at a subdivision community pool where one of the team members lived. His father had visitation that weekend and neglectfully left him at the pool party without telling anyone. As my son was climbing the steps to get out of the pool he slipped and went face foward on the concrete. He bloodied his nose, cut the upper and lower portion of his lip and broke his front left permanent tooth 1mm from the nerve at an angle. I was told by the coach he was sorry, but the HOA did not have any insurance. I contacted the health department to notify them of the steps potentially not having adequate grips and found out the community did not have permission to open as they had not completed their annual permit/inspection. I contacted the HOA chairperson and was informed that after my complaint they were inspected and they passed and since the party was unauthorized they had no obligations. I have received a narrative report from my sons dentist as long term repair will be ~$5,000 for temporary bonding and eventually a cap/root canal. What if anything can I do as they should have insurance to cover accidents such as this?


Asked on 5/29/09, 9:20 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

Re: Pool injury

There are several issues going on here. The first issue is whether the HOA had any sort of "med pay" insurance, which would pay for medical bills of persons injured on the property (regardless of fault). I would infer that when they say they don't have insurance, this the type of insurance they are referring to. They probably do, however, have "liability" insurance, which covers them if they were negligent in causing injury to someone. It is not entirely clear on these facts that the HOA was negligent, but certainly the absence of "grips" and the absence of the annual permit may help you to prove negligence. Most HOA's do have liability insurance, and in fact are required to do so under their bylaws or covenants. Depending on the age of your son and other factors, it could be determined that he too was at fault, in which case you could not recover those bills. You probably want to consult with an attorney in your area to discuss this in greater detail.

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Answered on 5/29/09, 9:31 am


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