Boat Accidents in Scottsdale
Scottsdale Personal Injury Lawyer Works Closely with Clients
Arizona can be hot and dry, but with its many lakes and thousands of boats
and other watercrafts, it has an unusually long season for water sports
and water sports injuries. If you have been to one of the lakes near Scottsdale
lately, you have seen how crowded they can be with boats, boards, skis
and personal watercraft. With no certification requirements, anybody can
operate a speed/motor boat, jet ski or other "personal watercraft."
It's enough to make anyone who is on or in the water very nervous.
For the sake of comparison, imagine how dangerous our highways and city
streets would be if nobody needed a learner's permit, driver's
license or vision exam to drive a car or truck.
And then imagine no speed limits, no directional arrows, no traffic signals
and no lane markings. Now, assume that about half of the drivers you saw
on the streets and roads had been drinking alcohol all day and that some
of those cars and trucks had 100-foot ropes swinging back and forth off
the back with live people attached!! Got the picture? Unfortunately, lakes
can be deadly when you combine inexperienced boaters, a cooler full of
beer, powerful watercraft, razor sharp propellers, skiers or wake boarders
swinging back and forth, and hundreds of other boaters all dealing with
similar distractions!!
Our firm represents clients throughout Arizona who have suffered personal
injuries or wrongful death in accidents and collisions involving motor
boats, jet skis, personal watercraft, water skis, wake boards, etc. These
sometimes tragic incidents do not always occur out on the water; they
can happen on the beach, at the docks, inside the boats, or in the water
near the boat exhaust. Many factors can cause or contribute to a boating
injury or death. Here are some examples:
- Driver/Operator error
- Driver/Operator inexperience
- Boating/Skiing/Boarding while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Equipment failure
- Exhaust fumes & carbon monoxide poisoning (See below)
- Adverse weather and/or water conditions
Boating Accident and Fatality Statistics
According to the 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of the United States Coast Guard's
"Recreational Boating Statistics 2012" (which "may be copied
and distributed freely in the interest of boating safety):
- The Top Five accident types are:
- Collisions between watercraft (leading cause of injuries)
- Flooding/swamping (leading cause of deaths)
- Collisions with fixed objects
- Grounding
- Skier mishaps
- The Top Ten Primary Contributing Factors:
- Operator inattention (most injuries)
- Operator inexperience
- Improper lookout
- Machinery failure
- Excessive speed
- Navigation rules violation
- Alcohol use (most deaths)
- Force of wave/wake
- Weather
- Hazardous waters
(Source:
2012 Recreational Boating Statistics, U.S. Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Coast Guard –
Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety.)
Don't Become a Statistic
Operators of boats, jet skis and sail boats can be held financially liable
for accidents caused by their negligence or drunk driving. If someone
drowns due to a lack of life preservers or is injured in an on-board fire,
a boat owner can be held responsible for the injuries or fatalities that
result. Under Arizona dram shop laws, in cases involving "boating
under the influence (BUI)," marinas, bars and other establishments
can be held liable if it can be proven that a boat's operator was
served alcohol while visibly intoxicated. We also represent clients who
have been injured as a result of defective boat parts.
Boating Accidents Caused by Drunk Driving or Negligence.
We work with investigators to determine why a boating accident happened
and what could and should have been done to prevent it. In BUI cases,
we review credit card statements, tabs and restaurant bills to determine
how much alcohol someone was served and over what period of time. We have
the investigative resources and knowledge needed to expose negligence
and violations of the law in boating accidents.
As a general rule of law boat and personal watercraft operators and owner
must exercise a high degree of care to prevent injuries to passengers
in or on the craft, and swimmers, skiers or others in the waters or boats
nearby. We will discuss your situation and go over the options available
to you, as well as work with insurance companies and other parties involved
in your case to make sure all your needs are handled quickly and appropriately.
Injuries and Boating Accidents
Our law office represents boating accident victims who have suffered:
- Amputations due to propeller accidents
- Head trauma
- Bank and neck injuries
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Lacerations
- Disfigurement
- Drowning
- Other fatalities
Boats and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - Silent, Odorless, Deadly
Each year, boaters are injured or killed by carbon monoxide. Most occur
on older boats, and within the cabin or other enclosed areas. Virtually
all carbon monoxide poisonings are preventable. Carbon monoxide is a deadly
gas produced any time a carbon-based fuel such as gasoline, propane, charcoal
or oil burns. Sources on your boat include gasoline engines and generators,
cooking ranges, space heaters and water heaters. Cold and poorly tuned
engines produce more carbon monoxide than warm, properly tuned engines.
Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless, and mixes evenly
with the air.
It enters your blood stream through the lungs and displaces the oxygen
your body needs. Early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
irritated eyes, headache, nausea, weakness and dizziness –
all of which are often confused with "seasickness." Exposure to carbon monoxide gas often causes brain damage; and
prolonged exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide gas is lethal. Carbon
monoxide can collect in or immediately adjacent to a boat in a variety
of ways. Boat engine exhaust leaks are the leading cause of death by carbon
monoxide, can allow carbon monoxide to migrate throughout the boat and
into enclosed areas. Even properly vented exhaust can re-enter a boat
if it's moored too close to a dock or another boat, or if the exhaust
is pushed back by prevailing winds. Exhaust can also re-enter boats when
cruising under certain conditions -- the station wagon effect -- especially
with canvas in place.
The Watkin Law Office, PC is a Scottsdale personal injury and wrongful
death law firm that represents serious boat injury and
wrongful death victims throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler,
Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Cave Creek, Carefree, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley.
Contact us at
(480) 281-3838 to arrange a consultation. When results matter, choose The Watkin Law
Office, PC.
REMEMBER: If the other side's claims adjuster calls to "interview"
you or "take your statement," politely decline -- at least until
after you have spoken with an experienced
boating injury and wrongful death attorney. Despite what the insurance adjuster might tell you, he or she is NOT
"just trying to help."