Owning a swimming pool in Louisiana is a luxury, but it comes with specific legal responsibilities when it comes to safety and liability. Whether you are a homeowner with a pool or someone who enjoys swimming in them, it’s important to understand the state’s swimming pool liability laws and how to stay safe during a fun day in the sun.

In this article, we take a deep dive into the intricacies of swimming pool liability in Louisiana, including what happens—and who is at fault—when a swimming pool accident occurs.

What Is Premises Liability & How Does It Affect Swimming Pool Laws?

Before we look at the specific laws governing swimming pools, let’s first explore Louisiana premises liability laws. Premises liability refers to the various legal responsibilities public and private property owners have when it comes to keeping their homes, yards, and accessible spaces safe and free from known hazards. These are the legal rules that determine when a property owner (or manager, in some cases) is liable for an accident that happens on their premises.

Property Owners Have a Duty to Keep Their Premises Safe

Louisiana law says that if someone’s actions (or inactions) cause harm to someone else, they may be legally responsible for the damage. This applies to swimming pools, just like it applies to driveways, stairs, or any other part of a property. If a pool is unsafe—because of broken gates, slippery walkways, or poor maintenance, for example—and the owner knew (or should have known) about it and didn’t fix it, they may be responsible if someone gets hurt.

Responsibility Depends on Who Got Hurt

Not everyone is owed the same level of care under the law. In Louisiana, the owner’s responsibility depends on why the person was on the property.

Invitees – These are people who were invited for business reasons, like hotel guests or gym members using a pool. When it comes to invitees, property owners must take reasonable steps to keep the pool area safe, fix hazards, and warn people of any dangers.
Licensees – These are social guests, like friends or neighbors invited over to swim. Property owners still have a duty to keep things reasonably safe, but it’s mainly about warning these types of guests of any known dangers.
Trespassers – These are people who weren’t invited onto the property. In most cases, owners don’t have much responsibility for trespassers. However, there’s an important exception when it comes to children. If a pool isn’t properly secured and a child gets in and is hurt, the owner may still be liable, even if the child didn’t have permission to be there. This is known as the “attractive nuisance doctrine.”

Louisiana law focuses on whether the property owner knew or should have known about a danger. If the owner ignored a hazard or didn’t take action to fix it, they could be found negligent—even if they didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.

How the “Attractive Nuisance” Doctrine Affects Pool Liability in Louisiana

Swimming pools can be especially dangerous for young children who don’t fully understand the risks. To address this, and to ensure property owners take extra precautions to keep kids safe, Louisiana law has something called the “attractive nuisance doctrine.”

Under attractive nuisance laws, property owners can be held responsible if a child gets hurt after being drawn to something dangerous on their property—like an unsecured swimming pool. Even if the child wasn’t invited, the law recognizes that kids are naturally curious and may not know better. Because of this, pool owners must take extra steps to keep children from getting into the pool area without supervision. That means doing more than just telling kids to stay away.

Swimming pool owners are expected to:

Install fences or locked gates
Use pool covers when the pool is not in use
Regularly check that safety features are working properly

If a pool isn’t secured and a child is injured or drowns, the property owner could face serious legal consequences.

The best way for pool owners to protect themselves—and their community—is to stay on top of safety. That includes maintaining barriers, making repairs promptly, and understanding their legal duties.

Legal Duties of Residential Pool Owners in Louisiana

If you live in Louisiana and own a pool at your home, you’re legally responsible for making sure it’s safe—not just for your family, but for anyone who might access it. This means keeping your pool area in good condition, repairing any hazards, and taking reasonable steps to prevent accidents.

Even though Louisiana doesn’t have a single statewide law requiring residential pool fences or alarms, that doesn’t mean they’re optional. If someone is injured because your pool wasn’t secured—especially a child—you could be held legally responsible. Fences, locked gates, and pool alarms are some of the most important safety features you can install to limit your liability.

Your homeowner’s insurance policy may cover swimming pool injuries, but many policies have specific requirements or exclusions. For example, some insurers require that your pool be fenced in, or they may not cover injuries that happen if safety features were missing or broken.

Failing to install basic safety measures, like a self-latching gate or proper signage, can open you up to negligence claims, or in some cases, strict liability. Even if you didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, the law may still hold you accountable if you didn’t take steps to make the pool area reasonably safe.

Legal Duties of Commercial & Public Pool Operators

Business owners and public facility managers have an even higher duty of care when it comes to pool safety. That’s because they’re inviting the general public to use their pools, often for a fee, which increases their legal responsibility.

Under Louisiana law, commercial and public pool operators are expected to follow specific standards, which include:

Complying with health and safety codes: Public pools must meet state and local health regulations, including rules about water quality, fencing, signage, and equipment.
Providing adequate supervision: While not always legally required, having trained staff on hand, like lifeguards, can be crucial. Lack of supervision can lead to property owner liability if someone gets hurt.
Posting clear warning signs: Signs like “No Diving,” “Shallow Water,” or depth markers are essential for alerting swimmers to hazards. Failing to post warnings can lead to claims that the facility didn’t properly inform users of the risks.
Performing routine inspections and maintenance: Pool equipment, decking, ladders, drains, and chemical systems must be regularly maintained. Broken or unsafe features must be repaired quickly.

Additionally, state law mandates barriers around Class A and Class B swimming pools. A Class A swimming pool is one used for diving and/or competitions, and a Class B swimming pool is one with walls that are greater than 2.9 feet. These types of pools must have barriers—walls, fences, buildings, or any other type of solid, durable enclosure—that meet specific standards.

Among these standards is the requirement that any barrier designed to reduce the risk of drowning and other pool-related accidents or injuries be at least 4 feet high and be free of any footholds or other features that could encourage or allow for climbing. Furthermore, under the Louisiana Administrative Code, gates around swimming pool areas must be both self-closing and self-latching, with latches at least 3.75 feet above the ground.

Daycare Center Pool Requirements

Louisiana has strict rules regarding swimming pools, wading pools, and any other body of water at daycare centers, including both in-ground and above-ground pools.

Swimming pool barriers at daycare centers in Louisiana must meet the following standards:

All pool barriers must be at least 5 feet tall and not more than 3.5 inches from the ground to prevent children from climbing over or under them.
If a pool barrier at a daycare center contains openings or holes, those openings or holes cannot be more than 3.5 inches in diameter.
Any gate on a pool barrier at a daycare center must be self-closing and self-latching with a latch that is at least 3.75 feet above the ground.

Relevant Louisiana Laws & Local Ordinances

While Louisiana doesn’t have a single unified pool safety law, there are several state laws and building codes that pool owners must follow.

For example:

The Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code includes standards for pool construction and often incorporates barrier requirements, like fencing and locking gates, especially for in-ground pools.
Local parish ordinances may impose additional rules, particularly in cities like Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lafayette. These rules might include specific fencing heights, gate locking mechanisms, or restrictions on pool placement.
For public pools, the Louisiana Department of Health sets strict safety and sanitation guidelines, covering everything from chemical levels to filtration systems.

Because pool regulations can vary by parish or municipality, it’s critical to check with local authorities to make sure your pool complies with all applicable rules. Ignorance of these laws won’t protect you from liability if an accident occurs.

Proactive Measures Pool Owners Can Take to Keep Others Safe

Whether you own a backyard pool or manage a community or hotel facility, there are several simple but effective ways to make your pool a safer place for all ages.

Install a code-compliant fence with a self-latching, self-closing gate
Use pool covers and alarms when the pool isn’t in use
Keep maintenance records to show that inspections and repairs are done regularly
Post clear warning signs about water depth, diving rules, and other safety concerns
Review your insurance coverage to ensure it includes pool-related incidents

These steps don’t just protect swimmers—they also help protect you if an accident leads to a lawsuit. Showing that you took reasonable precautions can make all the difference in a legal claim.

When Liability May Still Arise

Even if a pool owner takes certain precautions, they may still be legally responsible for accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur on their property.

Here are a few examples:

Ignoring complaints or hazards – If someone alerts a property owner to a safety issue and they don’t act, that is typically considered negligence.
Violating building or safety codes – Any violation, even unintentional, can become the basis of a claim if an injury occurs.
Failing to address foreseeable risks – If a property owner has had issues in the past, like children sneaking onto their property, and they don’t take steps to prevent it from happening again, they could still be held responsible.

Louisiana also follows a comparative fault system, which means multiple parties can share blame in an accident. For example, if a swimmer ignored warning signs but the pool gate was broken, the court might assign a percentage of fault to each side.

Owning a Pool Comes with Significant Legal Responsibility

Whether you own a small backyard pool or manage a large public facility, pool ownership in Louisiana comes with serious legal duties. The law expects property owners to take reasonable steps to keep people safe, especially when children are involved.

By staying informed, following state and local regulations, and making safety a top priority, swimming pool owners and managers can help prevent accidents. But, when an incident does occur, such as a drowning or a slip and fall, victims have rights—and property owners may face legal responsibility.