Florida Personal Injury Law & Recreational Boating Accidents
“Accidents at Sea”. That’s a common way of referring to “Admiralty” or “Maritime” cases. But not all such accidents occur on big cruise ships at sea.
With its large population and thousands of miles of shoreline and inland lakes and rivers, it is not surprising that Florida has more registered water vessels than any other state. Furthermore, water vessel accidents involving personal injuries frequently occur in Florida. In 2007, 376 injuries were reported involving 949 vessels and 14 swimmers. The total fatality count for 2007 was 77 with 6 of the 77 fatalities defined as commercial accidents. Of the fatal water accidents in 2007, 56% of these fatalities were in vessels less than 17 feet in length. See reference #1.
Passengers on a private recreational boat may be able to recover damages as the result of the negligent actions of the boat’s operator. These cases are analogous to situations where a car driver negligently operates the vehicle resulting in injuries to his/her passenger(s).
The following is an example of a situation where a recreational boat owner may be found liable for the injuries caused to his passenger under Florida state law. A boat owner extends an invitation to a friend to take a trip across a lake on the owner’s boat. The water gets choppy, but the boat owner decides to “brave it” and not turn back even though he is much closer to the side of the lake from which the trip originated. The boat is hit by a large wave, causing the friend to be thrown against the side of the boat. The friend suffers numerous lacerations and bruises; fractures her left leg in two places; and subsequently incurs medical expenses in excess of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00).
Now assume that the injured person sues for damages, claiming that the boat operator was negligent as to speed/boat-handling and decision-making. The boat operator blames the “accident” on unexpected bad weather (known as an “Act of God” defense). Will the injured person be able to recover damages?
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