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7-year-old
Graeme Baker one of many children killed by a dangerous
pool drain
 As
Memorial Day kicks off the unofficial start of summer
and swimming pools across the country open for the
season, the tragic death of Graeme Baker is leading to a
greater focus on pool safety.
In June of 2002,
seven-year-old Graeme Baker and her family attended a
high school graduation-pool party. The Baker family
never imagined that what was supposed to be a joyful day
would turn into something tragically unforgettable.
Throughout the afternoon,
Graeme and her sisters played in the home's swimming
pool and spa. Despite her swimming experience, while
playing in the spa, Graeme became pinned underwater,
entrapped by the suction on the drain of the spa.
Her mother Nancy jumped
in and saw Graeme -- her eyes were pinched closed, her
hair and limbs moving with the current of the water from
the spa's jets. Nancy tried with all her strength to
pull Graeme out of the spa but was unsuccessful. She
could not understand why she could not get Graeme out of
the spa.
Graeme's body was pinned
to the drain by hundreds of pounds of suction force. It
took two adults to pull Graeme's body off of the drain.
The force was so great that the drain cracked upon
removing Graeme.
Incidents similar to
Graeme's have been occurring for decades because of
defective drain design or the lack of simple safety
measures like drain covers. And only four states have
laws requiring safety measures to prevent deaths like
Graeme's. This common pool danger received some
attention during the last presidential campaign, when
the media covered the case of Valerie Lakey, who at age
five was seriously injured but survived a similar
incident and was represented by trial lawyer John
Edwards.
The Baker family settled
with one of the defendants responsible for Graeme's
death. As a result of the settlement, the Baker family
has been able to establish an educational program on
pool safety and bring more attention to the dangers of
entrapment. Earlier this month, former Secretary of
State James Baker, who is Graeme's grandfather, spoke
publicly at the National Safe Kids Week kick-off event
at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool. "We hope
Graeme's story ... will help save lives."
On the
Hill
In an effort to prevent
senseless and preventable tragedies like Graeme's death,
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) is
expected to introduce legislation to provide incentive
grants to all states that enact swimming pool safety
requirements. The legislation is modeled after a safety
law enacted in Florida and is supported by Safe Kids
Worldwide as well as the Consumer Product Safety
Commission. "The tragedy of hundreds of children
dying each year from accidental drownings is made even
more painful by the knowledge that these types of
accidents are preventable," said Wasserman Schultz.
In the past, the pool
industry has undertaken an intense lobbying effort to
oppose stricter building codes that would prevent deaths
like Graeme's. As Graeme's mother Nancy Baker said,
"We face a situation in this country where the pool
and spa industry resist the layers of protection that
are needed to prevent entrapment."
By
the Numbers
200: The
number of children under the age of five that the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates drown in
swimming pools each year.
88%: The percentage of pools that do
not have safety release systems that detect drain
blockages and automatically shut off suction to prevent
entrapment.
In
the News
Visit the ATLA
Press Room for
information about other important issues.
Personal
Loss Spurs Support of Bill on Pool and Spa Safety
Washington Post, May 3, 2006
"After car accidents,
federal statistics show, drowning is the second leading
cause of injury death among children 1-14. At least
several die every year when they cannot pull away from
the drain suction or when their hair becomes entangled
in the system. Others have suffered intestinal
evisceration or severe brain damage."
James
Baker Urges Pool Safety Legislation
Associated Press, May 2, 2006
"Former Secretary of
State James Baker shared the story of his
granddaughter's drowning with child safety advocates
Tuesday in support of proposed pool safety legislation.
'The savings from the pools or spas installed without
safety measures are not worth one child's life,' he
said." |
