Christopher Rogers: Lifeguards made ‘erroneous assumptions’

Appealing to the jury on Monday, prosecuting KC Liam McCollum asked “was he not entitled to the same protection as any other swimmer in that pool?”

The jury have heard that during the time Mr Rogers was submerged, the lifeguards were aware of him and had been observing him.

The court previously heard that Mr McVeigh and Mr Monaghan were engaged in conversation for two minutes and 20 seconds and before they attempted a rescue, Mr McVeigh had banged on the steps with a pole and had asked another swimmer to check on him.

That swimmer believed that he got a “thumbs-up” sign from the 20-year-old swimmer.

The “thumb- up” signal was actually Mr Rogers’ body experiencing decerebrate and decorticate posturing where his limbs moved involuntarily during a seizure brought on by his brain being starved of oxygen, the court heard.

It is the prosecution’s case that each of the defendants breached their duty of taking reasonable care by waiting too long to initiate a rescue, that the prolonged changeover of pool duties distracted them and that they “missed the signs” that Mr Rogers was in danger.

The jury have also heard however that during their training and induction, the lifeguards received no guidance about hypoxic blackouts or the signs to look for or about the dangers of prolonged breath holding and extensive underwater swimming.