boating accident lawyer

Published on: January 2, 2018

Orlando Area Boating Accident Lawsuits

Boating is one of the more popular activities in South Florida. In some cases, this includes going out in the bay or offshore from areas like Fort Lauderdale, but it can also involve taking a boat out of Lake Okeechobee in the Greater Orlando area. While this can involve a lot of fun, there are also serious boating accidents that occur each year which can result in serious personal injury or death. Some of these accidents can lead to the need to file a claim or personal injury lawsuit.

According to a recent news article from TC Palm, a major fishing tournament was canceled after the first day when two boaters went missing while participating in the tournament. Authorities including those from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, have said one team consisting of two men who had traveled to the state to participate in the tournament were reported missing the night following the first day of this tournament on the lake. Continue reading →

Published on: November 17, 2017

Proving Boating Accident Liability in Florida

By Dean Freeman

Fall may be in full swing, but Florida boaters know it’s the perfect time of year to be out on the water. Unfortunately, those waters can be perilous when reasonable care is tossed to the wind.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reports there were 931,000 registered vessels in the Sunshine State as of last year, and a total of 714 reportable boating accidents. Reportable boating accidents are those that result in more than $10,000 in property damage or personal injury or death. Of those 714 boat accidents, 421 resulted in injuries and 67 deaths. Personal watercraft (i.e., Jet Skis, SeaDoos, etc.) accounted for 13 percent of all registered vessels, but 26 percent of all reportable boating accidents. In terms of fatal crashes, there were 11 total, with nearly half of them involving a rented vessel. Palm Beach County ranked No. 3 in terms of the most reported boating accidents in Florida – 62 total reported with 3 of them fatal and 19 resulting in injuries. More than $1 million in property damage was reported.

Proving liability and obtaining compensation for a boating accident isn’t always a simple matter, but it’s often worth pursuing given the severity of injuries typically involved. The primary cause of Florida boating accidents, as assessed by the reviewing authority in cases last year, can largely be summed up as operator error. Continue reading →

Published on: August 30, 2016

In re: Aramark Sports – Did Company Fail to Warn of Boat Design Limits?

By Dean Freeman

A federal appeals court ruled recently that a boating company didn’t have a responsibility to keep an eye on the weather and offer an updated forecast to six vacationers from Florida whose rental boat sank seven years ago, leading to four deaths. But the 3-0 ruling in the case of In re: Aramark Sports wasn’t a total win for the boating company. That’s because justices remanded the case on the question of whether the firm was negligent in its failure to warn the boat renters of the wind speed limitations of the rented vessel’s design.

The boat, a Baja 202 Islander, was a 20-foot vessel that had the capacity to carry eight people. Court records indicate the manual for that boat revealed it was able to withstand maximum wind speeds of just 31 mph. That manual also stipulates that the maximum noted wave height and wind speed for that category doesn’t necessarily mean the boat is safe at that speed or that passengers will survive if the vessel encounters those conditions. In fact, the manual indicates that only highly experienced boaters will have the ability to operate safely the boat in those conditions.

But this was not information that was passed on to the vacationers – three retired police officers from St. Petersburg, FL and their wives – in Utah. When they met with steady winds of 35 mph. At times, gusts hurled past them at 55 mph. Their boat began taking on water. They issued a mayday as the boat sank in Lake Powell. One couple made it to some jagged rocks, where they clung until rescuers found them. However, the other two couples perished in the sudden storm. Continue reading →

Published on: August 24, 2015

Florida Boating Accident Kills 1, Injures 5

By Dean Freeman

Five teens were injured – three of them critically – and one was killed in a boating accident in waters running through a quiet residential neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale.

Authorities with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission indicated the small boat in which they were riding struck a bridge on the Middle River, shortly after midnight. At the time, the group was navigating waters that run along the North Dixie Highway in Fort Lauderdale, a residential neighborhood that is, by all accounts, pretty quiet.

The group had only been out for about an hour-and-a-half before the accident. Continue reading →