After A Boating Injury: Seeking Compensation

8 October 2019
 Categories: , Blog

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When on vacation, you might decide to take a boat ride on a public boat. Your safety is then placed in the hands of the individual operating the boat. Unfortunately, there are some risks associated with riding on a boat, and if you suffer an injury as a result of negligence, you may have a personal injury case. 

Passengers on a boat can fall off of the vehicle and suffer an injury as a result of the fall. They may also begin drowning and suffer a brain injury as a result of a lack of oxygen, which could leave the boat operator responsible for the accident. 

Boat Collisions

The most common cause of a boating accident is a collision with another vessel. While the majority of these accidents do not involve the consumption of drugs and alcohol, a small percentage of these accidents do involve substances that can impair the ability of the operator to operate the boat safely. If you can demonstrate that drug or alcohol use occurred during the operation of the vessel, it will be much easier to seek compensation for your injuries. 

Wakes and Waves

Another common cause of boat accidents are wakes. The wake is a wave of water created by another boat that can cause your boat to rock back and forth. This may lead to you falling out of the boat. The boat operator is responsible for ensuring that the boat is operated while taking wakes into account. While wakes are more commonly a problem, waves can be just as much of a problem.

Safety Equipment

A boat needs to have the appropriate safety equipment on board. For example, the boat should have personal flotation devices. The boat should have a distress signal and should also have fire extinguishers.

To hold a boat operator responsible for the accident, you'll need to first demonstrate that he or she had duty of care. Then, you must prove that the boat operator breached the duty of care. Fortunately, this is not difficult to prove since the boat operator already is fully responsible for the safety of the boat. 

However, you may have been accused of contributing to the boating injury as a result of your own reckless actions. The boat operator or the insurance provider will likely do whatever he or she can to reduce liability. Because of this, you will want to work closely with a personal injury attorney.