Broward Injury Lawyer Blog
While boating can be a lot of fun, especially in South Florida, it can also be dangerous. If there is a boating accident that involves negligence of the boat owner, victims may have a valid personal injury lawsuit.
A recent news article from Fox 4 News discusses a fatal boating accident that occurred in Cape Coral, Florida where one child was killed and another child was seriously injured. This particular crash occurred at around 9:30 a.m. Authorities say the accident involved a family of four that was traveling to Key West on the boat for Memorial Day weekend. They were traveling on a 32-foot fishing boat at the time of the deadly South Florida boating accident. The accident occurred when the boat crashed into a bridge.
When the boat crash occurred, one passenger, who was a 12-year-old boy, was killed instantly. His 10-year-old brother was seriously injured in the crash and was transported by Medevac helicopter to a local level-one trauma center, where he was treated and listed in critical condition. His 72-year-old grandfather was operating the boat at the time of the crash and was taken to a local hospital, as was the children’s father. The two adults are not believed to have life-threatening injuries. It should be noted that there were no formal accusations of negligence in connection with this deadly boating accident.
As our Fort Lauderdale boating accident lawyers have seen in many cases over the years, many people are injured on boats they do not own. Most of time, they are on someone else’s boat when the accident occurs. The means that the only recourse will be to file a claim against the boat owner who was at-fault in the accident. While there are certainly some cases where two boats crash into each other, and those cases are treated similar to car accident lawsuits, many boating accidents involve only a single boat.
There are a variety of ways an accident can happen, but they often involve the boat operator crashing into a fixed object, other vessel, or operating in such a negligent way that injures a skier or person being towed on an inner tube. We also have seen cases where the boat operator allows a child to ride on the bow of a boat, and the child falls off the boat. This can result in a drowning accident or the victim being hit by the boat or propeller, resulting in serious personal injury or death.
While it may not be ideal to have to file a claim against the boat operator, who is likely a friend, that is likely the only source of recovery. It is also good to know that you are not really suing that person as much as filing a claim against that person’s boat injury liability insurance company.
Unless the boat owner is willing to accept personal responsibility and pay for any and all damages, including medical bills, cost of rehabilitation, lost wages, and other types of special damages, then filing a claim is often the only way to go. There are very few situations when the at-fault party offers to pay out of pocket.
Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Additional Resources:
Boat crash in Cape Coral leaves 1 child dead, 1 injured, May 27, 2017, By Danielle Francis, Fox 4 News
More Blog Entries:
FHP Launches Program to Help Solve Hit-and-Run Crash Cases, April 3, 2017, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer Blog
