When you have a pool in your yard, you have a responsibility to ensure that your pool isn't related to or a contributing factor in any injury or harm to another person. As a swimming pool owner, there are steps you can take that will help protect you from being held responsible for a swimming pool accident or at least reducing your liability. 

Enclose Your Pool 

If you have a pool, you need to have a fence around the pool. This is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce your liability. You can't just have any fence around your pool, though. It needs to be a tall fence with a child-proof gate. A child-proof gate will have a lock on it that is tall enough that a child would not be able to open it without the assistance of an adult. You should also install a gate that is not easy to climb over.  

Before installing a fence, check with an accident attorney and make sure that the fence you want to install will help meet the legal requirements for a pool fence in your area and will help reduce your liability in the event of an accident. 

Keep a Lifesaver on Hand 

Next, you should keep a lifesaver next to your pool at all times. A lifesaver can be thrown into the pool to someone who is in distress. As a pool owner, it is your job to have adequate safety devices on your property so that if someone were in distress in your pool, you could save them. This device should not be kept away in the pool shed. Instead, it should be kept right next to the pool so that it can be easily accessed when needed.  

Create a Safe Pool Environment 

Finally, make sure that you keep a safe pool environment. You need to keep the gate to your pool locked so that no one wanders into the pool area. When you allow people over to swim in your pool, make sure that someone is always supervising everyone in the pool. This is true regardless of if you have children or adults swimming in your pool; anyone can drown, and you should always have someone who is capable of intervening if someone needs help, and you need someone who will help enforce pool rules, such as not running around the pool or not diving into the pool, in order to keep everything safe.  

If you are putting a swimming pool in your yard, you need to enclose your pool, keep a lifesaver on hand, and create a safe pool environment. Consult with an accident attorney to make sure you are taking the steps to protect yourself from liability.