A Lawyer Can Help You File a Boat Accident Lawsuit

A boat accident can cause you to be faced with hefty financial burden and medical bills. A lawyer can assist in getting you the compensation you're entitled to.

In general, you might be able to recover damages if you can prove a person, or entity that owed you a duty of care, but then breached it. This caused your injuries. A successful lawsuit for a boat accident involves four main elements:

Damages

Boat accident victims are entitled, like other personal injury victims to compensation for their losses. These damages could include medical expenses, lost wages and future earning capacity and property damage, as well as suffering and emotional distress.

The amount of money you receive from a jury will depend on your injuries and how long it will take for you to recover. Jury settlements and awards tend to be higher for severe injuries. These injuries could include trauma to the brain (TBI) or spinal cord injury (SCI), and permanent disfigurement.

It could be difficult to decide who is responsible for the boating accident. Your attorney will assess the cause of the accident and determine any other parties who may be liable the responsibility for your loss. This could include the owner of the boat, other drivers on the boat or any other persons who might have been present when the incident took place.

In some instances it may be possible to bring a claim against the manufacturer of the boat if there's evidence of an issue with the part that caused your injury. This is referred to as product liability, and falls under the laws that govern automobile manufacturers. Consult an attorney as soon you can if you're thinking of filing this type of claim. An attorney will be able to guide you through the process and ensure that all damages are recouped.

Liability

It is important to understand that just like with a car accident, a lawsuit involving a boating accident must demonstrate four elements in order to be successful. This includes proving a defense's duty to perform this duty, the breach of that obligation, actual damages and causation. This is not an easy task, and requires the expertise of a highly experienced personal injury lawyer.

Recklessness and negligence can cause boating accidents. Safety rules for boating must be followed, just like road rules. Furthermore, if an accident was the result of the operator being under the influence of alcohol or other 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 awareness and attention.

A successful lawsuit for a boating accident will result in compensatory damages that are meant to pay the victim for their costs and losses. These expenses include direct medical expenses, lost wages from working hours missed damages to property and pain and suffering and more. If you have health insurance, they will usually cover some of these expenses too. This is particularly true for maritime workers, who have access to compensation through the Jones Act, a century-old regulation that provides injured maritime employees with a pathway to recovery similar to workers' comp.

Preparation

Compensation for damages can help families deal with the financial burdens that come with their losses. Similar to car accidents boating accidents often involve several parties that could be responsible for the accident. It is essential to hire a reputable legal representative when seeking damages.

Usually victims of boat accidents can claim the same damages that they would be able to recover in a lawsuit for car accidents, including damages to property, medical expenses and lost wages resulting from time lost at work. In addition, they can seek compensation for emotional trauma as well as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment.

Boating accidents can result from a variety of causes, however in most cases, a person or a company is held accountable for an accident on the waterway due inattention. Typical defendants include the boat accident lawsuit owner as well as the owner of the boat or if the incident occurred when the victim was aboard a commercial vessel, the employer of that person.

Workers' compensation benefits are provided for boaters injured in an accident. However, this is a different process than filing an individual injury lawsuit for the same incident.

Filing

A serious boating crash can be devastating regardless of whether or not you own a luxurious yacht or a smaller fishing boat accident law firm. An experienced lawyer can assist you in obtaining damages for your losses.

A person injured in a boating accident can make a personal injury claim against the party responsible for damages. A successful lawsuit could cover medical expenses, lost income, pain and discomfort, and other financial losses as a result of the incident. The severity of your injury will determine how much you owe the defendant. For instance, a victim with a traumatic brain injury or severe spinal cord damage is likely to be faced with substantial medical bills and lose future earning capacity.

A plaintiff must prove both negligence and causation. This means that the defendant did not fulfill their duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid hurting others on the water and it was the sole cause of your injuries. Examples of violations include driving a vessel while drunk, and thereby losing control of the vessel, or not leaving enough space for other vessels.

An experienced lawyer will evaluate the evidence to determine which parties are accountable for your accident. They can also negotiate with the insurance company of the defendant and other legal counsel on your behalf. If a settlement is not reached the case will go to trial, Boat Accident Lawsuit and at that point the jury will make a decision on the liability and damages.