Boca Raton's sprawling condo complexes, HOA communities, and private clubs make residential swimming pools one of the most common amenities in the city, and one of the most common sites of tragedy. Florida leads the nation in child drowning deaths, and many of those cases trace back to inadequate barriers, broken gates, or pools left unsupervised in Boca's dense residential developments.

Why Gold & Gold in Boca Raton

Our office at 7777 Glades Road, Suite 409 is minutes from the communities where these accidents happen. Attorneys David H. Gold and Keith A. Pierro have handled drowning and near-drowning claims against HOAs, condominium associations, country clubs, and private homeowners across Palm Beach County. We know the local property managers, the recurring barrier code violations, and how Palm Beach County juries evaluate these cases.

Boca Raton courts, deadlines & Florida rules

Drowning claims in Boca Raton are filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County). Under Florida's post-HB 837 reforms, negligence actions now carry a two-year statute of limitations. Liability typically turns on Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Chapter 515, Florida Statutes), which mandates specific barrier heights, self-closing gates, and door alarms for pools accessible to children. An HOA or condo association that deferred maintenance on a required barrier, or a homeowner who disabled a gate alarm, faces strong liability exposure under Chapter 515.

Common drowning cases we see in Boca Raton

  • HOA pool gates propped open or missing self-latching hardware in gated communities along Glades Road and Yamato Road corridors
  • Condo association pools without required door alarms on units with direct pool access
  • Country club and private club pools lacking adequate lifeguard coverage during peak hours
  • Near-drownings in Boca Raton canal systems abutting residential lots with no required fencing
  • Child drownings at vacation rental properties where owners failed to inspect barrier compliance before renting
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Our HOA pool had a broken gate latch for months. Does that create liability?
Yes. Chapter 515 requires pool barriers to be maintained, not merely installed. Documented maintenance requests, prior complaints to the property manager, or HOA board minutes that reference the broken latch can establish that the association knew about a non-compliant condition and failed to fix it, a strong foundation for a negligence claim in the 15th Circuit.
The drowning happened in a private canal behind a home, not a pool. Can we still bring a claim?
Possibly. Florida premises liability law imposes a duty of care based on the foreseeability of harm and the status of the person on or near the property. Canal-edge fencing requirements and prior incidents in the neighborhood are relevant. We investigate whether the landowner or a neighboring property owner had notice of the hazard.
How long do we have to file after a drowning accident in Boca Raton?
Florida's negligence statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury or death under the changes enacted by HB 837. Acting quickly preserves evidence, security footage, maintenance logs, and barrier inspection records are often overwritten or discarded within weeks.