Boating Accident Lawyer in Delray Beach
Boating is a popular past time in the state of Florida, but it can become stressful if you or a loved one is inured in a boating accident. If you are injured on a pleasure boat, it is important to seek legal counsel to learn your rights.
In order to seek damages for an injury that occurred while on a sailboat or motorboat, you must be able to prove that your injury is the result of someone’s negligence. To better understand this, it helps to explore the main types of boating incidents:
- Your boat hits another boat
- Your boat hits another boat’s wake
- Your boat hits a wave
- Your boat hits a submerged object, rock, or land
Collision With Another Boat in Broward County
When two boats collide, both boat operators are typically at fault. This gives injured parties on either boat a legal case against both operators. If either operator is injured, he then has a case against the other operator, and only if the injured operator can prove that he was less than fifty percent responsible for the accident.
Florida Personal Injury Attorney, Shane M. Farnsworth, can help you prove that your injuries are the result of the boat operators’ negligence so that you may receive reparations for your injuries.
Hitting Another Boat’s Wake in Florida
Big waves and wakes can be dangerous for boat passengers. Hitting a large wave or the wake of another boat can cause passengers and operators alike to lose their balance or fall from their seats.
While this is a fairly common occurrence, the legal liability is not always entirely clear. Federal and Florida’s state boating laws and regulations, as well as safe boating practices, require the boat’s operator to keep a proper lookout for anything that might be a hazard to his or her boat and passengers. However, many factors play a role in determining an operator’s liability, including:
- The size of the wake
- The boat’s speed
- The visibility
- The boat traffic in the area of the accident
- Whether the operator warned the passengers that the boat was approaching a big wake
- Whether the injured person was on a motorboat or a sailboat
The operator of the boat whose wake caused the incident may also be at fault, depending on the accident location and boating traffic in the area. For instance, if the boats were traveling in a “No Wake” zone, then any wake violates boating safety rules and the operator would be negligent.
An experienced Broward County Personal Injury Attorney can help you determine who is at fault in a boating accident. Contact Shane M. Farnsworth to begin your consultation today.
Florida Boat Collision with Submerged Object, Rock or Land
The operator’s liability in a collision with an object will depend on the conditions during which the incident occurred. With the proper nautical charts and rate of speed, the operator is less likely to be found at fault in a collision with a submerged object, rock or land.
Contact Shane M. Farnsworth, Broward County Boat Accident Attorney, to begin your consultation today.
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