A Perspective From The Haggard Law Firm
A fatal drowning in Miami-Dade County has once again exposed the deadly risks posed by unsafe swimming pools at short-term vacation rentals—risks The Haggard Law Firm has confronted for decades on behalf of grieving families.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, a 3-year-old girl died early Saturday morning after wandering into a backyard and falling into an unprotected swimming pool at a short-term rental home in the Kendale Lakes area. Deputies were called shortly before 6 a.m. to the home near Southwest 132nd Avenue and 119th Street, where a family of seven—including five children—was staying while visiting the area.
This heartbreaking loss is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader, systemic failure in pool safety, particularly within the rapidly growing short-term vacation rental industry.
A Preventable Tragedy We Have Seen Too Often
For more than three decades, The Haggard Law Firm has represented families devastated by child fatal and non-fatal drownings, many of which occurred in residential swimming pools lacking basic safety protections. Time and again, our investigations reveal the same preventable factors:
- No four-sided pool fencing
- No self-latching or self-closing gates
- No pool alarms
- No clear warnings provided to guests with children
Young children are naturally curious. They can slip away silently in seconds. That is why Florida law, safety experts, and child-advocacy organizations have long emphasized the importance of layered pool safety measures—especially at properties marketed to families.
Short-Term Rentals and a Dangerous Gap in Accountability
Short-term rental platforms and property owners profit by offering homes with pools as “family-friendly” amenities. Yet far too often, those same properties fail to meet basic child-safety standards.
Unlike hotels and resorts, short-term rentals often operate in a gray area of regulation. Families reasonably assume that a listed vacation home is safe. Tragically, we have learned through litigation that this assumption can be deadly.
The Haggard Law Firm has gone head-to-head with short-term rental owners, property managers, and insurers who failed to secure pools or warn families of known dangers. In many cases, these deaths could have been prevented with modest safety investments costing very little in an effort to to save a life.
Drowning Is the Leading Cause of Death for Young Children
According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4. Residential pools—particularly those at private homes and vacation rentals—are among the most common locations.
These statistics are not abstract to us. They represent children we have met, families we have stood beside, and futures forever altered by negligence.
Legal Accountability Saves Lives
While no lawsuit can undo a loss like this, legal accountability plays a critical role in:
- Forcing unsafe property owners to change
- Improving industry-wide safety standards
- Raising public awareness
- Giving families answers and a voice
Every case The Haggard Law Firm takes is driven by the belief that preventable tragedies must lead to meaningful change.
A Call for Stronger Safety Standards
This Miami-Dade tragedy should serve as a wake-up call. Short-term rental owners must be held to the same—or higher—safety expectations as hotels when marketing properties to families with children.
Pool fencing, alarms, and clear safety disclosures are not optional. They are lifesaving necessities.
Our hearts are with this family as they navigate an unimaginable loss. We hope their child’s story leads to reforms that prevent another family from experiencing the same heartbreak.
If you or someone you love has been affected by a fatal or non-fatal drowning , The Haggard Law Firm has the experience, resources, and resolve to pursue accountability and advocate for safer communities.
