[StBernard] swimming pools

[Westley Annis]

I read the article in the T_P about the council wanting to write an
ordinance on abandoned pools. I heard St. Tammany may have already passed
something, so maybe they want to do the same language. As with abandoned
houses, and abandoned slabs, you can be sure that for homeowners to carry
liability insurance, when the policy comes around for renewal the insurance
companies will deny liability coverage for an abandoned house, a bare slab
on the property, AND ESPECIALLY AN ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE/HEALTH HAZARD pool
that has been abandoned for years.  It will be a gamble for a property owner
to drop liability insurance and risk losing everything they own from a
personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Unlike  kids falling on an
abandoned slab because they were using it for skateboarding, a kid drowning
in an abanonded pool will have a larger claim and possible more serious
charges against a homeowner who knowingly left it. I doubt the family
members will be sympathetic if the homeowner dropped liability insurance.
The homeowners could be paying out a settlement for the rest of their lives.
Owning property, be it a car, a boat, or a house, creates responsibility and
liability, and those who are injured or die from owned property will go
after the maximum compensation regardless of what caused the situation or
the financial circumstances of the property owner. It's not a question of IF
this will happen, but WHEN it will happen and who will be the first to get
hurt or die, or lose everything they own to compensate the injured parties.
ddk