Bestway Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Recalled Above-Ground Pools Pose Drowning Risk

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Bestway USA Inc. faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges that several of the company’s recalled above-ground pool models are designed such that the products pose an unreasonable drowning risk for children.

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The 19-page lawsuit against Bestway claims that an external support strap used to help pools that are 48 inches or taller hold their shape can act as a sort of lip or “foothold” that children could use to climb into the pool, creating a drowning risk.

The filing charges that the Bestway pools at issue—the Coleman Power Steel Above Ground Pool, the Power Steel Above Ground Pool, and the Steel Pro Above Ground Pool models, which reportedly retail for between $400 to over $1,000 and were recalled in July 2025—are more dangerous than consumers were led to expect, given that children can access the water even without an external ladder.

“Defendants’ claims of ease of use and understanding that the product was safe led customers to pay a higher price than they would have for other comparable products,” the complaint reads.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), nine children between the ages of 22 months and three years old drowned between 2007 and 2022 after accessing the water via the pools’ external compression straps.

Per the case, more than five million of the following models made by Bestway were subject to the recall:

• Coleman (Sold 2008-2014): Power Steel; Steel Pro, Coleman Power Steel;
• Intex (Sold 2002-2012): Metal Frame Pools; Ultra Frame Pools;
• Intex exclusive to Intexcorp.com and Walmart (Sold 2024-2025): Prism Frame Pool; Ultra XTR Frame Pool; and
• Polygroup: Summer Waves (Sold 2015-2025); Summer Escapes (2006-2015); Funscile (2023-2025); Sand n Sun (2008-2011); Blue Wave (2014-2025)

Per the complaint, Bestway was aware of the apparent design flaw but failed to disclose to consumers that the pools posed a serious drowning hazard. Moreover, the suit continues, the company’s safety representations about its products included no mention of the strap hazard and “omitted that the Product posed a drowning risk because of the foothold created by the strap.”

With the recall, Bestway has urged consumers to cease using the affected models and contact the company for a free repair kit. This repair kit consists of ropes that attach to the same vertical support poles that the straps surround, but at ground level. The rope must first be secured fully before the compression straps can be cut and removed.

Consumers can head to this page and confirm their above-ground pool model and receive a free repair kit from Bestway, with shipping included.

The plaintiffs contend that the above-ground pool recall is insufficient due to the documented loss of life as well as the “substantial time and effort” necessary to modify the strap using the repair kit. According to the case, class members who receive the kit must “drain all water from the Product before completing repairs.” Essentially, the suit argues, the act of draining thousands of gallons of water to make a repair that’s not the fault of the consumer, only to fill the pool back up, is an incredibly tedious, non-cost-efficient solution.

This would not be the first time that Bestway would pay a substantial amount for a loss of life under similar circumstances. In March 2025, a Missouri jury ordered Bestway to pay $25 in damages after a 2-year-old child drowned in 2019 due to a similar defect. Both plaintiffs in the case state that they “would have purchased a different above-ground pool product” had they known that “the Product was defective and dangerous as it was sold.”

The Bestway above-ground pool class action lawsuit looks to cover all United States citizens who, between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2024, purchased any of the three Coleman-specific pools listed on this page and sustained an injury because of the product being unfit for its intended purpose. 

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