Only one thing in the whole story is for certain:
An ambulance-chaser will sue the government (local, county, state, or federal, whichever can be named) for multi-millions of dollars, and the taxpayer will pay the bill....the lifeguard, of course, will not pay anything at all....except to live with the consequences of his (in)action.
There were no consequences - kid was saved by someone else on the scene.