Boating Accidents Can Be Just As Dangerous
Brian O Sutter
Accident Lawyers
Personal Injury
When you’re on a boat in Florida, the rules are different than when you’re in a car on land. You’re still considered under the influence if your blood alcohol content is .08 or higher, but you’re much less likely to get stopped by a patrol and you’re allowed to have open containers within reach of the pilot. Underage drinking still isn’t permitted, but kids as young as 14 can helm a personal watercraft of any sort and only need a license for boats with 10 horsepower or more.However, just because the rules are different doesn’t mean the results won’t be the same if you get into an accident. A bad collision can cause an injury to just about anywhere on your body depending on what you hit, including a potentially hard-to-detect traumatic brain injury. A collision can also cause significant damage to any boats involved or even sink them, and even with a proper flotation device there’s still some risk of drowning.
For these reasons, the actions you take after a boating accident are exactly the same as the ones that follow an auto accident:
1. Contact The Authorities
Much like on land, the cops aren’t particularly interested in every fender-bender, but you are required to contact them in the event of a serious injury or significant damage, around $2000 or more. Needless to say, performing a hit and run is also illegal.
2. Help Who You Can
If someone can’t move after a car accident, you aren’t supposed to move them because he or she may have a damaged spine and motion could make the injury worse. However, you can safely ignore this rule if the person is in immediate peril (like if the car is on fire), and this exception also includes anyone who manages to fall overboard or otherwise winds up in the water.
3. Exchange Information
Boat insurance isn’t mandatory like it is with automobiles, but it’s still probably worth the money if you’re piloting anything more sophisticated than a rowboat with an outboard motor. But even without insurance, it’s crucial to exchange names and other information following a boating accident since it’s not always practical or possible for a deputy or other law enforcement officer to visit the exact scene of even a serious collision. For this same reason, you should also take photos of the collision and the damage if you can.
4. Don’t Admit Fault
Another factor in common with land accidents is that an admission of fault on the scene can be used against you in later negotiations with insurance adjusters and judges whether it turns out you were truly responsible or not. As such, no matter how you feel at the time, you should never say that you caused the accident.
However, if you believe the other pilot was responsible and you’re having a hard time convincing him or her to pay damages or with getting the insurance company to provide you with a decent settlement, you should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer. If you live in or near Sarasota or Port Charlotte, or if your accident occurred in the nearby waters, you should contact the All Injuries Law Firm for a free consultation. We’ll do our best to make sure you get just compensation for any sort of loss that may have resulted from your accident.