boating accidents

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 ›

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 ›