Missouri Drowning Leads to Bill Mandating Insurance for Water Parks

The drowning of a Joplin, Missouri boy has led to House passage of legislation requiring for-profit swimming pools to have liability insurance.

The legislation is named for 6-year-old Ethan Cory, who died in July on a field trip to business called the Swimmin’ Hole.

The bill would require the owners of private, for-profit water parks to purchase at least $1 million worth of liability insurance. Those that operate without it could face fines of $250 a day, up to a total of $10,000. Those that intentionally violate the law also could be charged with a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to a year in jail.

The insurance requirement would apply to swimming pools that charge admission and have a capacity of up to 500 people with a water depth of more than 2 feet.

Latest Comments

• April 8, 2008 at 3:57 am

  Calif Ex Pat says:

  looks like Missouri is moving dramatically forward into the 20th century - guess the reason the plunge operator had no cover is that the whole park is worth less than a good l... read more
• April 8, 2008 at 3:29 am

  RICHARD says:

  I THINK SOME HAVE MISSED THE POINT ON THIS ONE. THE GOVERNMENT HAS SORT OF SIDESTEPPED INTO REGULATION OF THESE PARKS BY REQUIREING LIABILITY AND THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY WILL H... read more
• April 8, 2008 at 2:03 am

  Alex says:

  Just read that liability insurance for the park involved would be $72K per year, a cost the owner can't afford. Sometimes I think the world would be better off without liabil... read more