Zaza, Jean-Marie Jeremie Yannick
Deceased
Jean-Marie Jeremie Yannick Zaza
Demographics
2y, male
Date of death
2008-02-23
Finding date
2009-09-21
Cause of death
Drowning
AI-generated summary
A 2-year-9-month-old child drowned in a residential swimming pool while in the care of his father, who had fallen asleep indoors. The pool gate's self-closing hinge mechanism had deteriorated over four years without inspection or maintenance, failing to reliably latch. The property was being used as a homestay for a newly arrived international family. The coroner found the death preventable through systematic pool safety failures: lack of regular inspections, inadequate assessment by the homestay operator, and absent emergency preparedness information. Key lessons include the critical need for mandatory periodic pool inspections (especially at change of tenancy), proper maintenance of gate mechanisms, and safety briefings for temporary occupants in unfamiliar rental properties. The coroner emphasized that pool safety should be treated as a priority public health issue equivalent to smoke alarm compliance.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Pool gate self-closing mechanism failure due to lack of maintenance and inspection over 4+ years
- Faulty hinge requiring adjustment that was not performed
- Lack of regular safety inspections of pool fencing
- Inadequate safety assessment by homestay operator
- No emergency contact information or safety briefing provided to temporary occupants
- Inadequate supervision of young child by father
- Key left in internal side of security door allowing unsupervised access to pool area
Coroner's recommendations
- Queensland Government implement mandatory ongoing periodic inspection system for pools at least once every four years
- Queensland Government undertake immediate advertising campaign urging pool owners to check safety compliance several times per year, focusing on gates, latches, hinges, and fence gaps
- Queensland Government ensure viable monitoring process for pool inspections at point of sale or lease entry
- Building certifiers follow up on pool fencing approvals rather than placing obligation on owners to call for inspection
- Real estate agents ensure Council inspection of pools at beginning of each new lease and annually for existing long leases; this requirement should apply to homestay operators
- Entry and exit condition reports completed by real estate agents focus on pool safety alongside other safety issues such as smoke alarms
- Sunshine Coast Regional Council implement random audit program similar to previous Maroochy and Noosa councils until Government implements mandatory inspection system
- Regional Council compile register of all pools in area (both owned and rented properties, including existing properties) for regular inspections
Full text
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