Boating Accidents

Boating Safety in Focus as Holiday Marks Height of Summer Season

July 6, 2023 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The July 4 holiday ushers in the height of summer boating season and is a great time to review boating safety.

The boating season got off to a bad start in May after seven people were rescued in the waters between Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, according to FOX4 News.

Passengers called 911 after a collision between a 50-ft sailboat and a 30-foot fishing vessel. The sailboat was anchored outside the channel and was struck by the fishing vessel, according to authorities. That crash occurred just several weeks after a boat struck the base of the Cape Coral bridge and sank.

Fort Myers Boat Show – Staying Safe on the Water

November 14, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Fort Myers Boat Show kicks off this weekend in downtown Fort Myers amid unprecedented interest and demand for all things boating as Southwest Floridian’s continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of guests were expected and plenty of masked and unmasked faces were present as preparations this week were delayed by the meandering and prolonged path of Hurricane ETA, which finally made landfall as a tropical storm near Tampa, after wandering past Miami and spending several days off the coasts of Naples and Fort Myers Beach.

Southwest Florida Boating Injuries a Pandemic Risk

April 19, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Well, you can still get out on the water.

But boaters off the coast of Southwest Florida are not guaranteed the peace and tranquilly paradoxically offered by local malls during the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 has turned life upside down in Southwest Florida. In mid-March, we were preparing for spring training and spring break, in mid-April we are “safer at home.”

Record Pace of Fatal Boating Accidents in Southwest Florida

April 9, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Already this year, five fatal boating accidents have occurred in Lee County, prompting authorities and safety advocates to urge boaters to use more caution off the coast of Southwest Florida.

The News-Press reports more than twice as many fatal boating accidents have occurred in Lee County waters so far in 2019, compared to 2018 when two people were killed.

Our boating injury lawyers in Fort Myers posted about boating safety in November as tourist season opened with the 46th Annual Fort Myers Boat Show. The rash of fatal accidents shows there is still much work to do when it comes to improving boater safety.

President of Boating Company Dies in Florida Boating Accident

December 9, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The president of a Rhode Island boating company has died from injuries sustained in a single-boat crash in the Florida Keys during the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run. The crash occurred last month near the Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club in Marathon, Florida, according to BoatingMag.com.

The publication reports the owner of Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats was on board the vessel with four other men, including the 52-year-old operator of the boat. Two of the others on board were treated at a nearby hospital with personal injuries after the crash, while the other two were not injured. The 63-year-old decedent is survived by his wife and six children, who range in age from 15 to 38.

Although racing powerboats could be deemed by some as an inherently dangerous activity (decedent himself was quoted in a 2009 Newsweek article, in which he referred to himself as an “adrenaline junkie”), this does not mean the operator of the boat was not responsible to use reasonable care. These boats cost approximately $500,000, travel more than 100-miles-per-hour and the driver and throttle man are required to wear five-point harnesses in an enclosed canopy. Continue reading ›

Boating Accident Lawsuit Verdict Affirmed, Though Punitive Damages Deemed Excessive

October 24, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Boating is a popular outdoor activity in Florida, with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reporting some 932,000 registered vessels as of 2016. However, it can also be a potentially very dangerous one. There were more than 700 reported boating accidents in the state last year. A total of 67 people died – with 70 percent of operators involved in fatal boating accidents having no formal boater education.

While operator error is the most commonly-cited cause of Florida boating accidents, the failure of the vessel or one of its components can’t be overlooked. While the former would help establish liability on a theory of negligence, the latter would establish product liability. In order for product liability to be applicable, we would look at the mechanics of the vessel and whether it performed as expected and/ or whether consumers were warned about foreseeable dangers.

In a recent boating accident case out of Louisiana, the state supreme court there affirmed a $125,000 verdict against a boating manufacturer, but did find the punitive damage award of $23 million to be excessive. In turn, the court amended the punitive damage judgment to $4.25 million. Continue reading ›

Negligence Alleged in Florida Boating Accident That Killed Two Teens

August 12, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida is a boater’s paradise, but it quickly became a nightmare for the parents of two teen boys who disappeared off the coast of Jupiter in the midst of a fierce Atlantic storm. The 19-foot boat they took was recovered months later, empty. The boys have never been found.

Now, the parents of one of those teens are eyeing a wrongful death lawsuit against the other, after a new state report alleges negligence for failure to exercise reasonable care in allowing the teens to go out into the water on an ill-equipped boat in poor weather conditions with no adult supervision. However, the prospective defendants of the case say they did not allow their son to take the boat out that day, and should not be liable for the other boy’s death.

Florida does not require a boating license for any operator. However, if a boater was born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, they will be required to complete a boater’s safety education course if they operate a boat with 10 hp or more. Most providers of these courses have no minimum age, and do not require participants to be Florida residents.

The question in this tragic case will really boil down to whether the boys were properly supervised. Although negligent supervision is a tort that could apply in a variety of contexts (think construction site managers or trucking carriers overseeing many drivers), it can also refer to failure to control a child. What must be proven is the adult knew or should have known the child needed to be controlled and/ or protected, and failed to do so, resulting in injury. Continue reading ›

Florida Leads Nation in Boating Accidents

June 10, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A man is suing his former girlfriend’s father after a boating injury in which he suffered paralyzing injuries and is now a quadriplegic.

According to news reports, the lawsuit (filed in New Hampshire by the 27-year-old) alleges he was spending time with his girlfriend at her father’s lake house, where father/ defendant owned a boat. The group took the boat out to a sandbar, where the plan was to anchor. Plaintiff, inexperienced in boating, was helping defendant drop the anchor, at defendant’s request. Defendant, a regular boater, did not inform plaintiff of proper boating procedures, particularly for sandbars, and plaintiff dove into the water to help with the anchor. The problem was the water was only 3 feet deep. Plaintiff’s injuries were catastrophic. He now alleges defendant violated boating regulations by standing on the gunnel while the boat was in motion, and also in directing him to jump in when the water was so shallow. Plaintiff’s attorney said the dangers of this were not obvious to an inexperienced boater.

Florida is no stranger to cases like these, considering we lead the nation in total number of registered vessels – 932,000 in 2016, according to the latest figures from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). There were a total of 714 reportable boating accidents in the Sunshine State last year. Of those, one quarter involved a collision with another vehicle. A third of the fatal accidents involved falls overboard, and overboard boating is the No. 1 cause of fatalities in Florida boating. Continue reading ›

C.F. Bean v. Barhanovich – Dredge Pipe Danger for Boaters

November 24, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Boaters in Florida face many hazards while out on the water, from perilous weather to reckless operators. Underwater dredge pipes are a hidden risk.

Dredge pipes are used to conduct dredging operations, which are intended to clean out the bed of a harbor, river or some other area of water by scooping out the weeds, mud and trash. These sites are essentially construction zones on the water, and yet, they are usually not visible to boaters. They can pose a serious danger for approaching vessels, particularly in low visibility conditions.

That is why the companies and government agencies responsible for carrying out these operations owe a duty of care to make sure there are warnings or signs so boaters know to steer clear. The recent case of C.F. Bean v. Barhanovich involves a boater who was killed when the outboard engine of his fishing boat struck an underwater dredge pipe. The pipe flipped into his boat and fatally struck him. Continue reading ›

BUI: Calls to Penalize the Same as DUI Renewed After Death of Marlins Pitcher, Friends

November 18, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The boating death of the Miami Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez shocked and devastated the team and the community. Now, a toxicology report reveals Fernandez, 24, had a blood-alcohol level that was almost twice the legal limit and he also had cocaine in his system. His two friends, also killed in the boating accident, had alcohol in their systems too, though they were under the legal limit. Authorities opined the three died of blunt force trauma to the torso and head after the boat slammed into a jetty around 3:30 a.m.

We still don’t know at this point who was actually operating the boat. However, we do know, based on the latest boating statistics released by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that alcohol and/or drug use played a role in 1 out of every 5 boating fatalities in Florida last year. There were a total of 737 reportable boating accidents in 2015 (those that involved injuries or caused more than $2,000 in property damage). Florida has the most registered vessels in the nation – 916,000 – a figure that has been steadily growing with the economic recovery.

Although boating under the influence (BUI) is a crime by Florida law (F.S. 327.35), and penalties are somewhat similar to those for driving under the influence (DUI) (F.S. 316.193), there are some loopholes that lawmakers have been trying to close for sometime. As the Palm Beach Post recently reported, BUI enforcement and treatment under the law raises a number of complex questions. Continue reading ›