A Lawyer Can Help You File a Boat Accident Lawsuit
A boating accident can cause severe medical expenses as well as financial hardship, and possibly bankruptcy. A lawyer can help you get you the money you deserve.
In general, you can claim damages by proving that a person or entity was obligated to you with a duty of care and violated it, leading to your injuries. A successful boat accident lawsuit includes four key elements:
Damages
Like other personal injury cases, victims of boat Accident Law firm accidents are entitled to compensation for their losses. These damages could include medical expenses, lost wages and future earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, and emotional anxiety.
The amount a jury awards will be contingent on the severity of your injuries and the length of time you’ll need to recover from them. Settlements and jury awards tend to be greater for severe injuries. They can include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries and permanent disfigurement.
It is often difficult to determine who is at fault for your boating accident. Your lawyer will analyze the cause of the accident and identify any parties that might bear the responsibility for your losses. This could include the owner of the vessel or any other boat driver or anyone else aboard at the time of the accident.
In certain instances, it may be possible to sue the boat’s maker in the event that it is proved that the defective component was responsible for your injury. This is known as product liability and is covered by the same laws as auto manufacturers. Consult an attorney as soon you can if you are thinking of making this claim. An attorney can guide you through the process and ensure that all eligible damages are paid.
Liability
It is important to understand that, just like car accidents the lawsuit for a boating incident must show four elements to be successful. This includes proving a defense’s duty to perform this duty, the breach of that obligation, actual damages and the causation. This is not an easy task, and requires the expertise of a skilled personal injury lawyer.
Recklessness and negligence can cause accidents while boating. Just like the standard rules of driving, there are boating safety regulations which must be adhered. Furthermore, if an accident occurred as a result of an operator under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he or she may be held accountable. It is also important to keep in mind that boating activities require an intense level of awareness and concentration due to the unpredictable nature of weather and water conditions.
A successful lawsuit for a boating accident will result in compensatory damages that are meant to compensate the victim for their costs and losses. These costs can include medical bills directly and lost wages due a loss of work. These can also include damages to property and suffering and pain. If you have health insurance the insurance will typically cover a portion of these costs. This is particularly relevant to maritime workers who have access through the Jones Act to compensation, a century old regulation that provides injured maritime workers with the same pathway to recovery to workers compensation.
Preparation
While there is no way to bring back a loved one who was injured or killed in a boating accident however, compensation for damages could aid families in coping with the financial burdens that come with their losses. Like car accidents, boat accidents typically involve multiple parties who may share liability for the accident, which makes it necessary to seek knowledgeable legal counsel when seeking compensation.
Typically victims of boat accidents are able to recover the same types of damages that they would be able to recover in a car crash lawsuit which includes injuries to property, medical expenses and lost wages due to time missed at work. They may also seek compensation for emotional trauma and pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment in their lives.
Many factors could cause an accident on the water however, frequently businesses or individuals are held accountable for an incident that occurs on the waterway as a result of their reckless behavior. The most common defendants are those who operate the boat, the boat owner, or, if the incident occurred during the time the victim was on a commercial vessel, the employer of that individual.
In some instances, a person who works on a boat accident law firms may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured in an accident, however that is typically distinct from filing an injury claim for personal injury in the same incident.
Filing
No matter if you own a luxurious yacht or a quaint fishing boat, a boating accident can be catastrophic. An experienced lawyer can assist you in obtaining compensation for your losses.
As with car accidents, a person injured in a boating accident could file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party for damages. A successful lawsuit could cover medical expenses as well as lost income, discomfort and pain, and other financial losses resulting from the incident. The severity of your injury will determine how much you owe the defendant. For instance, a patient suffering from a brain injury that is traumatic or a serious spinal cord injury is likely to have significant medical bills and lose future earning capacity.
In addition to proving negligence A plaintiff must also establish the causation. This means that your injuries were caused by the defendant’s inability to use reasonable care to prevent harm to others on water. Some examples of violations include drinking on a boat while drunk, recklessly loosing control of the vessel or failing to allow enough room for other vessels.
An experienced lawyer will review the evidence and determine who is at fault for the accident. He or she will also negotiate on behalf of you with the insurer of the defendant and other legal counsel. If a settlement cannot be reached the case will go to trial, where the jury will make a decision on the liability and damages.
