A Lawyer Can Help You File a Boat Accident Lawsuit

A boating accident could leave you with severe medical bills and financial stress. An attorney can help get you the compensation you deserve.

In general, you can seek damages by proving that an individual or entity owed you a duty of care and violated it, leading to your injuries. A successful lawsuit involving a boat accident is comprised of four elements:

Damages

Boat accident victims are entitled, like other personal injury victims, to compensation for their losses. These damages include medical expenses, lost earnings and future earning potential damages to property, emotional distress, and suffering and pain.

A jury's decision will depend on the severity of your injuries and how long it will take you to recover from them. Jury settlements and awards tend to be higher for catastrophic injuries. These injuries may include brain injuries that are traumatic (TBI) as well as spinal cord injury (SCI), and boating permanent disfigurement.

It might be difficult to decide who is responsible for your boating incident. Your attorney will assess the causes of the incident and determine any other parties who may be liable the responsibility for your losses. This could include the owner of the boat, other drivers on the boat as well as any other individuals who were on board when the accident occurred.

In certain instances, it may be possible to sue the company that made the boat if it can be proven that a defective component caused your injury. This is known as product liability and is covered by the same laws as automobile manufacturers. Contact an attorney as quickly as you can if you're considering making this claim. The attorney can guide you through the entire process and ensure that the damages are fully compensated.

Liability

It is important to understand that just like with a car accident the lawsuit for a boating incident must demonstrate four elements in order to be successful. This includes proving that the defendant's duty of care, breach of that duty of care, actual damages, and causation. This is not an simple task, and requires the skill of a skilled personal injury lawyer.

Boating accidents are often caused by different things, including negligence and recklessness. Similar to the rules of the road there are boating safety rules that must be followed. Furthermore, if an accident occurred as a result of the person operating the boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs then he or she could be held liable. Due to the unpredictable nature and conditions of water and weather boating requires a high level of attention and awareness.

A successful lawsuit involving a boating accident could result in compensatory damages, which are designed to compensate the victim for their expenses and losses. These costs include direct medical bills, lost wages from working hours missed and property damage and pain and suffering and more. In addition, if you have health insurance, it will usually cover some of these costs as well. This is especially relevant for maritime workers who are covered through the Jones Act, a century-old regulation that provides injured maritime employees with a means to recover similar to workers' compensation.

Preparation

Compensation for damages can help families cope with the financial burdens associated with their losses. Similar to car accidents boating accidents typically involve multiple parties who could share responsibility for the crash. It is important to have a competent legal advocate when seeking damages.

In the majority of cases the victims of boating accidents can recover the same damages they could in a case involving a car accident which includes property damage and medical expenses, plus lost wages due the absence of work. In addition, they are able to seek compensation for emotional trauma in the form of pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment of life.

Boating accidents can be caused by a number of causes, however in many cases an individual or company is held responsible for an accident that occurs on the waterway due negligence. The typical defendants are the boat operator or the owner of the boat, or if the accident occurred during the time the victim was on commercial vessel, the employer of the individual.

Workers' compensation benefits are available to boat workers who are injured in an incident. However it's a different procedure from filing an individual injury lawsuit for the same incident.

Filing

A serious boating incident can be devastating regardless of whether or not you own a luxury yacht or a modest fishing lockport boat accident lawsuit. A skilled attorney can assist with obtaining compensation for your losses.

Similar to car accidents, a person injured in a boating incident may bring a personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible for the accident to claim damages. A successful claim can cover medical expenses and lost wages, as well as suffering and other financial losses relating to the incident. The severity of your injuries play a big role in how the defendant is likely to owe you. A person who has suffered a serious spinal cord injury or traumatizing brain damage is likely to face huge medical bills as well as a loss of earning potential in the future.

In addition to showing negligence, a plaintiff must also establish the causation. This means that your injuries resulted from the defendant's failure to use reasonable care to avoid harming others on water. Examples of breaches include operating a boat under the influence of alcohol and causing irresponsible loss of control of a vessel, or not allowing enough space for other vessels.

An experienced lawyer will analyze the evidence and determine who is responsible for the accident. He or she will also negotiate on behalf of you with the insurer of the defendant and other legal counsel. If you cannot reach a settlement, the case will be tried and the jury will make a decision on damages and liability.