TODDLER IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER STATEN ISLAND DROWNING ACCIDENT
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Injury Lawyer)
Saturday, May 29, 2010, at around noon, 18-month-old Vincent Fougere accidentally fell into his family's Staten Island swimming pool.
He was rushed to New York City's Staten Island University Hospital, where he is in critical condition from his injuries.
Neighbors say they heard screams from the backyard shortly after noon.
Authorities say that firefighters from a nearby firehouse ran to the house on foot after being notified about 12:20 p.m. "When we got down there the baby was on the side of the pool and wasn't breathing and was no pulse and we started going to work right away on the baby as far as doing mouth to mouth and CPR on the baby," said New York City Firefighter Matthew Gianone.
The boy was at the hospital 11 minutes later.
Comment: A tragic accident and a similar accident was the subject of a recent blog post. I'll repeat my advice:
It's the time of year when homeowners are opening up their pools for the season. Please be careful. Have a fence with locking gate around your pool if you have children or even if you just expect children to visit during the summer months. Also, get a floating pool alarm, which signals if a large object enters the water.
