boating accident attorney

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 ›

Boating Wake Liability Results in $1 Million Settlement

September 22, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A boating accident lawsuit stemming from a crash resulting in the amputation of a 9-year-old girl’s thumb is likely to settle for $1 million, according to local news sources from Myrtle Beach.

According to MyrtleBeachOnline.com, the defendant in the case of Georgino v. Murrells Inlet Epiphany Inc. is the tourism leader of the popular South Carolina city. He also works as the managing partner of a resort management company there. The lawsuit was filed in federal South Carolina District Court.

The accident occurred in late May 2014. According to the girl’s mother, who is the plaintiff on her behalf, the child’s hand was resting on the side of her father’s boat. It was in the process of being moored and rafted alongside a number of other vessels situated in an inlet. The family was attending an event for wounded veterans.

Suddenly, according to the complaint, the wake caused by defendant’s yacht caused the girl’s father’s boat to slam into another vessel. The lawsuit alleges the yacht was being operated at a high rate of speed, very near to boats that were moored and rafted. Continue reading ›