Expert reaches out to save lives

By DAVE GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — Summer is in full swing and the lakes and rivers of the Pacific Northwest beckon as popular places to cool off. The dark side of this outdoor activity comes with the water-related accidents that can plague the season.

According to Greg Anderson, an attorney with years of experience in this field, there is a distinct difference between northern communities and those in the south, where warm weather favors swimming year-round.

“I notice a lot of intense activity here on the lakes and rivers during the summer,” said Anderson, who is now in the third year of spending the season in Sandpoint with his wife, Jennifer, two daughters and a son. “These are the communities that are at risk for drowning and aquatic accidents.”

Perhaps his antennae were up due to his aquatics accident work as a senior partner at AndersonGlenn, LLP, a law firm with offices in north and south Florida, but he began to notice an unmistakable pattern here in North Idaho. Unlike the Sunshine State, where young swimmers are more accustomed to the sport and, in turn, more familiar with its dangers, kids in this region tend to rush out unprepared to play in the water in that small window the weather allows.

Their comparative lack of knowledge, Anderson pointed out, can lead to tragedy.

“Last summer, I read about two drownings and an unfortunate incident where a young man jumped off of the jetty and broke his neck,” the attorney said. “These are accidents that are preventable.”

Anderson’s professional background lends considerable gravitas to that statement. He has tried aquatic accident jury trials in seven states with a total of more than 100 civil jury trials. He has argued before the Florida, Georgia and Delaware Supreme Courts and the Federal 11th and 5th Circuit Courts of Appeal.

His work representing organizations such as USA Swimming, the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and numerous water parks and amusement facilities, along with writing water safety articles for several publications and public speaking on the topic, have put aquatic accidents front-and-center in his world. According to Anderson, all of it has formed his knowledge base on the ramifications of being unprepared for water sports.

“I saw that kids were drowning in situations where they shouldn’t be,” he said.

Swimming experience can go a long way to offset the risks, he noted, but following a few basic rules could make the difference between life and death.

- Wear your Personal Flotation Device. This common sense measure speaks for itself.

- Never assume the depth of the water. Even when wading, a strong current can take a non-swimmer into deeper water and increase the danger of drowning.

- Measure the water depth before diving. Better yet, jump — don’t dive — any time you are even a little unsure about how deep the water is. Anderson has seen firsthand the aftermath of ignoring this particular advice. “It breaks my heart,” he said. “I’ve followed too many quadriplegic kids after these accidents.”

A competitive swimmer at the age of 5 and a national champ by 7, the aquatics expert now wants to share his knowledge and experience here in Bonner County. Though still in the planning stage, his vision for such an outreach could include videos and the kind of presentations that pull youngsters in. He also plans to approach the school district with the idea of sharing his expertise with students.

“Some education would be of great value in a community like Sandpoint — even for an hour at the end of the school year,” Anderson said. “And it wouldn’t take much to show kids, ‘Do this; don’t do that.”

Last year, the Andersons and their daughters took part in a rescue when a windsurfer became stranded in strong winds on Lake Pend Oreille. The family was trying out a new sailboat when they noticed that the windsurfer was struggling against winds that gusted up to 45 knots.

Although the individual was wearing a life jacket and wetsuit, the conditions conspired against him making it safely back to shore. Fortunately, the Andersons recognized the signs and managed to sail out to provide assistance.

“The guy was exhausted,” Greg Anderson said in a June 24, 2017, Daily Bee article written by Keith Kinnaird. “Sometimes you can look in people’s eyes and I wouldn’t say he had given up, but he was darn close to it and there was nobody else out that day. It was howling.”

Now fully smitten with this area, the attorney wants to form an educational outreach and offer his experience free of charge.

“I have that knowledge,” he said. “And I want to help.”