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In warm weather, there is nothing better than a trip out on the water. However, trips can sometimes turn tragic if a person acts negligently or recklessly. You or a loved one might be harmed in the process.
If a boating wreck led to compensable injuries, you might be eligible to pursue financial compensation in a personal injury suit. A dedicated Calumet City boat accident lawyer could investigate your incident and help you determine whether to pursue legal action.
Waterway accidents occur for a wide variety of reasons, most of which will have an element of negligence even if it is not obvious at first.
Most commonly, accidents occur because of operator mistakes. People do not tend to take boating responsibilities as seriously as they take driving a car. Inexperience and overconfidence can lead to problems. Without proper training and understanding of how their boat works and what the relevant maritime rules are, inexperienced operators do not know how to correctly navigate their boats. If an emergency arises, they also might not know how to respond appropriately. In addition, operators who are overconfident in their abilities might speed or take overly sharp turns.
Operators often get distracted by their passengers and fail to pay proper attention to what is happening around them. If they do not look out, they could crash into another vessel or a stationary object. Consuming alcohol or drugs is forbidden for someone operating a vessel. Boat operators also sometimes make mistakes when they permit too many people onboard or too much stuff on their vessel. An overloaded boat can be difficult to steer and could also capsize.
Even when someone properly operates a vessel, accidents can occur due to problems with the machinery. Defective or worn-out steering or braking mechanisms can lead to disasters out on the water. Failure to have adequate safety equipment, such as life jackets, flares, fire extinguishers, and emergency medical equipment, can quickly turn a minor problem into a disaster. Boat operators and owners should regularly inspect, maintain, and repair their vessels to prevent these problems.
Calumet City boat crash attorneys could investigate a waterway accident to determine how it happened and who is legally to blame. They could help a boat crash survivor pursue a claim against the boat’s operator, owner, mechanic, manufacturer, boat rental company, or anyone else whose negligence contributed to the accident.
In addition to bump and scrapes, there are a number of catastrophic injuries a person might suffer in a boat crash. If the crash was at a high velocity, a person could suffer brain damage or a spinal cord injury – made all the more dangerous if they are thrown into the water. Broken bones are also possible. For this reason, everyone on a watercraft should wear a lift vest, even experienced swimmers.
There is also a severe risk of drowning. Someone who lost a family member to drowning should immediately call a boat collision attorney in Calumet City. They may be able to discuss your odds of securing damages in a wrongful death claim.
Going out on a boat should be a fun and relaxing adventure. Unfortunately, boating accidents occur all too frequently and most of these are preventable. If everyone had acted responsibly, the accident could have been avoided. When a boating accident injured you or a loved one, let the legal team at McCready Law review the details of your case.
Contact a Calumet City boat accident lawyer to discuss what options are available to you.