Personal Injury Lawyer
Many people enjoy the outdoors, especially when it comes to getting out on open water. But with the rise in use of jet skis and other watercraft, boating accidents are more common than they used to be. Whether someone was hurt water skiing, sailing, scuba diving, fishing, wakeboarding, snorkeling, or simply driving their motorboat, it’s important for people to understand when further action aside from medical attention is needed. If someone was being careless or negligent moments before a boating accident happened, they could be liable financially for how another person was harmed.
Just like driving for the ways of the road, there are rules for waterways as well. When someone isn’t thinking about the safety of others and an injury accident results, it can leave people suffering in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise. There is legal recourse for those who were just going about their day normally when an accident occurred due to another’s fault. Boating accidents can happen for several reasons, from driving a boat while intoxicated to a minor operating a watercraft unsupervised. Other examples of boating accidents can include:
- Collisions
- Disappearances
- Drownings
- Sinkings
- Severe injuries
- Slip and falls
- Wrongful death
As a personal injury lawyer explains, victims should consider hiring a lawyer so that an investigation can be performed and the proper parties are held responsible. With help from a legal team, similar to the lawyers at Therman Law Offices, LTD, there are different types of compensation that a boating accident victim may be entitled to receive, such as:
- Compensation for medical bills for their boating-related injuries
- Loss of earnings if the victim had to stay home or be in the hospital to recover
- General out-of-pocket expenses related to accident injuries
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering damages
- Punitive damages against a boat operator who was being grossly negligent
A terrible accident can unfold when someone is being negligent, but there are common themes that tend to be true when it comes to boat incidents specifically. Some of the most prevalent contributing factors of boat accidents include exceeding passenger limits for vessels, defective boat parts, improperly maintained watercraft, untrained boat operators, driving the boat in excess of speed, and operating a boat when under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
Because of the nature of boats and how they work, injuries that do happen tend to be severe. Most boaters are not restrained when a collision happens, and there is a high chance that the boater would hit the hard surface of the interior or fall overboard into open water. Injuries often related to boating incidents include broken bones, internal organ damage, internal bleeding, severe lacerations or punctures, traumatic brain injuries, near drowning, spinal cord damage, and mental anguish.
Boating accident victims may have to deal with serious mental trauma after the event, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Victims of boating accidents are encouraged to get medical attention immediately and consider getting help from a therapist too if needed.