The injured victim must prove negligence on the part of one or more boat operators, in order to recover any damages.
Typical Causes for Boating Accidents
• Collision of 2 or more boats
• One boat hits another boat’s wake.
• One boat hits a wave.
• A boat hits a submerged object.
Legal Issues related to the listed causes
Liability issues for collision of boats determined by facts concerning that particular event
—At what speed were the boats traveling? If a motorboat were to hit a sailboat, the operator of the motorboat would almost certainly be held liable for any injuries.
—What was the degree of visibility?
—Had operator issued a warning to passengers?
—Did the boat’s operator have safety equipment aboard? Did that equipment include life jackets or other lifesaving gear?
What had the operator known about the swimming abilities of the passengers, before taking them on-board? Those that could not swim should have been wearing a life jacket, at the time of the collision. Personal injury lawyer in Cambridge know that liability issues for accident caused by one boat hitting another boat’s wake
• What was the size of the wake?
• Had one boat created a wake in what was supposed to be a wake-free area?
• Had the operator warned the passengers?
• Had the operator carried safety equipment?
What had the operator know about the ability of each passenger to swim? Any passengers that did not know how to swim should have been wearing a life jacket, when the boat hit the other boat’s wake.
Liability issues if boat his submerged object
—Was the operator carrying any nautical charts?
—Was the operator proceeding with caution, or speeding?
—What was the degree of visibility?
—Did the operator carry any safety equipment?
—What did the operator know about the ability of each passenger to swim? Those passengers that could not swim should have been wearing a life jacket, at the time of the boat’s collision with a submerged object.
Those same issues should be in the mind of any parent that has chosen to give children a boating experience. That experience should not include some sort of tragedy, such as one that resulted from the absence of the proper safety equipment.
It is best for any adult to take on board only those children that he/she knows. Otherwise, some child might claim to know how to swim, when, in fact, he/she does not. Moreover, no adult wants to be required to reach for a child that has fallen overboard.
Collection of damages
The collection of damages could be impossible, if the other operator had failed to purchase any type of boating insurance. Such a situation would best be resolved with the assistance of a lawyer.
