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Lopez and Humphries, P.A.
Personal Injury Due To Accidents Negligence Medical Malpractice
Plant City FL | Valrico FL | Brandon FL | Hillsborough County FL
Boating and Watercraft Accident and Injury Attorneys
Maritime Law Attorneys | Negligence Boating Cases
Settlements, Compensation and Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
In 2007, 5,191 boating accidents claimed the lives of 685 people and injured another 3,673, according to a report by the U.S. Coast Guard. Many of these accidents occurred due to negligence on someone's part. When a boating accident is caused by another party's negligence, people who are harmed are often eligible for compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering as well as other damages.
To learn more about the legal implications of boating accidents and your right to compensation, please review the information below and contact a qualified boating accident attorney.
Boating Accidents and the Law
As a legal matter, a boating accident occurs when a boat (motorboat, canoe/kayak, pontoon boat, sail boat, jet ski, etc.) is involved in an event or series of events that cause harm, such as property damage, total vessel loss, missing person(s), injury or death. Boating accidents are one type of motor vehicle accidents. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, common accidents include: Collision with another vessel Collision with a fixed, sometimes submerged, object Collision with a floating object (e.g., log, swimmer) Mishaps involving a skier or person on a towable object Mishaps involving a person falling overboard Capsizing Grounding, sinking, flooding or swamping Fire or explosion Carbon monoxide poisoning
Most boating accidents involve an element of negligence.
Negligence
Victims who have suffered injuries or property damage as a result of boating accidents often are eligible to receive compensation from an insurance company or a court award. First, however, they must establish that someone's negligence, or failure to act responsibly, was to blame.
Many victims of boating accidents prove negligence with eyewitness testimony, law enforcement reports and photographs of the accident scene. With this evidence, they must show that: The boating accident was caused by carelessness The victim was caused harm The negligent party is responsible for compensation
Direct evidence provided by eyewitness testimony is persuasive evidence of negligence in a boating accident. For example, the statement of an onlooker, who witnessed a boat operator drinking beer, driving erratically and/or crashing into another boat, is convincing evidence of negligent boat operation. Indirect or circumstantial evidence may be just as compelling. For example, a law enforcement report stating that a swimmer's electrocution occurred near a boat that was wrongly connected to shore power is likely to persuade a jury of operator negligence.
