A Lawyer Can Help You File a Boat Accident Lawsuit

A boat accident can result in severe medical bills and financial distress. A lawyer can help you get you the money you deserve.

In general, you can seek damages by proving that a person or entity had a duty to care and failed to fulfill it, resulting in your injuries. There are four major elements to an effective lawsuit over a boating accident:

Damages

Similar to other personal injury cases, boat accident victims are entitled to compensation for their losses. These damages can include medical expenses as well as lost wages, future earning capacity in addition to property damage, pain and suffering, and emotional stress.

The amount you receive from the jury will depend on the extent of your injuries and the length of time it takes you to recover. Settlements and jury awards tend to be higher for serious injuries. They might include traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, as well as permanent disfigurement.

It can be difficult to determine who is responsible for your boating accident. Your attorney will look into the cause of the accident and pinpoint the parties that could bear liability for your losses. This could include the owner of the boat accident law firms, any other boat drivers or any other persons who might have been aboard at the time that the accident took place.

In certain cases it may be possible to bring a claim against the manufacturer of the boat in case there is evidence of a defective part that caused your injury. This is referred to as product liability and is governed by the same laws that apply to automobile manufacturers. Contact an attorney as quickly as you can if you're considering making this claim. The lawyer can guide you through the entire process and ensure that the damages are fully compensated.

Liability

It is important to know that, like an automobile accident, a boating accident lawsuit must prove four elements to be successful. This includes proving a defendant's responsibility, boat accident lawsuit breach of this duty, actual damages, and causation. This is not an easy job, and requires the expertise of a highly experienced personal injury lawyer.

Boating accidents are often caused by different factors, including recklessness and negligence. Similar to the rules of the road there are boating safety rules which must be adhered. If the accident was the result of intoxication or drug use, they may also be found to be responsible. It is important to keep in mind that boating activities require the highest level of attention and awareness, due to the unpredictable nature of weather conditions and the water.

A successful boating accident lawsuit will result in compensatory damages which are intended to pay the victim for their costs and losses. These expenses could include direct medical bills and the loss of wages due to absence from work. They also include damages to property and suffering and pain. If you have health insurance, it will usually cover some of these expenses too. This is particularly relevant to maritime workers who are entitled under the Jones Act to compensation, an old law that provides injured maritime workers with the same pathway to recovery to workers' compensation.

Preparation

Compensation for injuries can help families cope with the financial burdens associated with their losses. But, just like car accidents, boating accidents often involve multiple parties who could share the blame for the crash, making it crucial to find an experienced legal counsel when seeking compensation.

In the majority of instances the victims of boating accidents can recover the same type of damages as they could in a car crash case such as property damage and medical expenses, as well as the loss of wages resulting from missing work. Additionally, they can seek damages for emotional trauma and pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment of their lives.

Many factors can cause a boating accident, but many times a person or business is held accountable for an incident that occurs on the waterway due to of their reckless behavior. The typical defendants are the operator of the boat or boat accident lawsuit the owner of the boat or, if the accident occurred when the victim was aboard a commercial vessel, the employer of the person who was responsible for the accident.

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

Filing

It doesn't matter if you have a lavish yacht or a humble fishing boat, a serious boating incident can be devastating. An experienced lawyer can assist with obtaining compensation for your losses.

Similar to car accidents the person who is injured in a boating collision may file a personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible for the accident to claim damages. A successful lawsuit can pay medical expenses, lost wages, suffering as well as other financial losses that are related to the incident. The severity of your injuries will determine how much you are owed by the defendant. A person suffering from a serious spinal cord injury or traumatizing brain damage is likely to face massive medical bills and a loss of future earning potential.

A plaintiff must prove both negligence and causality. This means that your injuries were caused by the defendant's inability to take reasonable precautions to avoid harming others while on water. Examples of violations include driving a vessel while drunk, and thereby losing control of a vessel, or not leaving enough room for other boats.

An experienced lawyer can analyze the evidence to determine which parties are liable for your accident. He or she can also negotiate on your behalf with the defendant's insurer and other legal counsel. If a settlement cannot be reached the case will be heard at trial, at which point the jury will decide on liability and damages.