Blog Post

Parents of Boy Injured in Santa Clara County Swimming Pool Accident File Personal Injury Lawsuit


May 28, 2008
Topic: Swimming Pool Accidents

That 14-year-old Jerry Pham, a beginner swimmer whose Milpitas High School records marked him as a "non swimmer", was found lying at the bottom of the pool during a swimming session with 40 other students and a supervisor present, in itself is bad enough. But what happened after Jerry's immobile body was found at the bottom of the pool is even more shocking. His physical education teacher, Kristina Edwards, ordered all students to get out of the pool after Pham was spotted. And then, instead of diving into the pool and rescuing the boy, she called school security. Not 911. She then began to use a rescue pole to pry Jerry off the bottom, and followed this with some more panic stricken behavior. And all the while, Jerry remained at the bottom of the pool. When security finally arrived, some of the students had already dived into the bottom of the 12 foot pool and fished Jerry out. The boy was blue and had blood and water gushing out of his mouth and nose. The boy survived his horrific swimming pool accident, but his parents say he has severe brain damage.

His parents have now filed a personal injury lawsuit against the school and Kristina Edwards in the swimming pool accident. They allege that the school was unprepared for swimming pool accident emergencies of the kind that befell Jerry, and claim that Edwards herself did not posses the skills or training to handle a class of 40 children at a swimming pool. She did not know how to perform emergency resuscitation, and she had no idea what to do when a student was spotted under water. In short, she had no business being in any position of authority and supervising students in this dangerous situation. There was also no emergency medical equipment available in the pool area, the lawsuit claims.

The swimming pool accident lawsuit, which claims damages to the tune of $10 million, also claims that Jerry has suffered severe brain injuries as a result of his near drowning.

In the days since the swimming pool accident, Milpitas High School has cleaned up its act. Physical education teachers are now required to hold certification in CPR training and first aid. A minimum of four teacher's assistants are now required to supervise a batch of students at the pool, and all are required to have lifeguard certification in place. Further, non-swimmers will be assigned buddies and will not be allowed near the deep end of the pool.

It seems like all these well intentioned measures have come too late. Why does a boy have to nearly drown in a swimming pool accident for any action to be taken? It also seems as if basic common sense was sacrificed by the school administration. Isn't it plain common sense that a teacher in charge of 40 students at the pool, some of who are non-swimmers, should have some sort of emergency rescue training if no lifeguard is present? Why would a non-swimmer be allowed anywhere near the deep end of the pool, and unsupervised at that?

This young boy will bear the effects of his near death experience for the rest of his life. A positive settlement will at least help his family provide the special kind of attention that he will need.

If you have been injured in a swimming pool accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.