Practices and Principles of Aquatic Law, a forthcoming book from John Fletemeyer, Ph.D., discusses the legal considerations of recreational bodies of water, including public, semi-public and private commercial pools.

Though geared toward legal professionals, the book offers facility operators keen insight into procedural elements that follow an accident or fatality. From a risk-management perspective, it's a must-read, said Fletemeyer, executive director of the Aquatic Law & Safety Institute. He co-authored Practices with seven other legal professionals and scholars.

"The takeaway is that the people at higher levels of aquatics, the supervisors and stakeholders, will read the book and develop an understanding of what goes through an attorney’s mind … and learn how to develop log books and preventative strategies,” Fletemeyer said.

The book addresses some of the hottest topics aquatics professionals are grappling with today, including the hotel-lifeguard debate and the need for lifeguards aboard cruise ships. There are sections devoted to diving accidents, brain-eating amoeba -- a rapidly growing freshwater concern -- electrical hazards, chemistry and the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The book also describes in detail the different types of drowning and the various stages the victim experiences.

Fletemeyer said the time is right for such a book -- a first of its kind. In the age of social media and a 24/7 news cycle, such incidences spark intense media coverage, which in turn has prompted many attorneys to gain an understanding of the aquatics industry.

"Most aquatic accidents have several causes and may have more than one proximate cause," Fletemeyer noted in a prospectus to the publisher, CRC Press. "This book systematically identifies these causes, including those related to codes, standards and rules that are either written or implied."

Practices and Principals of Aquatic Law will publish later this year from CRC Press.