Lansing Boat Accident Lawyers

Boating can be a lot of fun, but people often get carried away and fail to take safety precautions, which can result in dangerous accidents and severe injuries.

When this happens, victims may not know where to turn for legal help. They may be unsure if they have a case for compensation and how to go about pursuing it. That is why contacting a licensed attorney can be an important step to take.

I would recommend them highly to anyone needing a lawyer.

– J. Bowers

Our Lansing boat accident lawyers are here to determine if you may have a case and what it may be worth. We are prepared to manage the entire legal process on your behalf. Our firm has obtained more than $500,000,000 in settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients.

We offer boat accident victims a free consultation with no obligation to file a claim. We do not charge up front for our legal services and are not paid unless our clients receive compensation first.

Do I Have a Case?

This is a complex question to answer because there are many factors at play. Our lawyers need to discuss what happened with you and learn how negligence may have played a role in your injury.

Negligence is a legal theory that is applied in many personal injury cases. It refers to careless or reckless behavior that results in an injury to someone else or death. The four elements of negligence include:

• At-fault party owed a duty of care to act with reasonable care to prevent injuries from occurring
• At-fault party failed to uphold the duty of care through reckless actions or a failure to act
• The breach of duty of care is linked directly to you suffering an injury
• The injury you suffered resulted in damages that can be claimed in a lawsuit or insurance claim

When we try to assess if negligence occurred, there are many factors that may need to be taken into consideration, such as:

• The type of accident
• How the accident happened
• Whether the boat operator was speeding, intoxicated or distracted
• Whether the boat had the proper safety equipment
• Whether the boat was properly registered
• Boating regulations that may have been violated in the accident
• Where the accident happened
• Whether there are eyewitnesses

Our Lansing pleasure craft attorneys are prepared to take on cases involving many kinds of boats and watercraft, including but not limited to:

• Sailboats
• Jet skis
• Wave runners
• Tour boats
• Kayaks
• Canoes
• Ferries
• Speedboats
• Cruise ships
• Rafts
• Motorboats

Who Could be Liable for a Boating Accident?

Boat operators are often the ones held liable for accidents. This is especially true if another boat operator was drunk or speeding or distracted and caused a collision with your boat.

Operators may also hold liability for not having proper safety equipment on board, such as life vests or fire extinguishers. For example, Michigan requires a life jacket for each person on board the vessel. To comply with the law, the jacket must meet certain requirements.

Others who may hold liability for boat accidents include:

• Boat owners, who may have loaned the boat to an operator who was unqualified or inexperienced
• Passengers could have been horsing around or acting recklessly, resulting in things like slip and fall injuries, falling overboard or even fires or explosions
• Manufacturers may have made a boat or component of the boat that was defective and carried an unreasonable risk of injury
• Boat rental companies that did not properly maintain their vessels

What Your Boat Accident Case May be Worth

When someone suffers an injury in a boat accident, he or she may soon be thinking about how to pay for all the medical care that he or she may need.

Fortunately, the law allows accident victims to pursue compensation when another party is liable for their injury. This may include the cost of past, current and future medical bills. Additional expenses could include physical therapy and rehabilitation, along with permanent scarring and disfigurement, prescription medications and durable medical equipment.

Other damages that may be available include:

• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Loss of companionship
• Lost enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

Our firm has the resources and legal knowledge to pursue the full cost of your damages. We want you to have the compensation you need for your medical treatments. We also want you and your family to be financially secure after your serious injury.

Deadline for Pursuing Compensation

If your boat was insured or the other operator’s boat was insured, you may be able to file an insurance claim. Insurance companies often have deadlines for filing claims, so it is important to file as soon as possible.

If you are filing a lawsuit, it must be done within three years of the accident or the claim will likely be dismissed in court. While there are exceptions, this is something you should discuss with a lawyer. You may have much less time than you think to file a claim, so call a lawyer as soon as possible.

Our Lansing boat accident attorneys need time to investigate and build a case so we can present a strong argument for maximum compensation for your injuries and damages.

Reporting a Boat Accident in Michigan

If you were operating a boat or own a boat that was involved in an accident that meets the below criteria, you are required to report it to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources:

• Death within 24 hours
• Need for medical treatment
• Disability that lasts more than 24 hours
• Loss of consciousness
• Property damage worth more than $2,000
• Someone disappears from a vessel that is likely to be a result of injury or death

The Official Boating Accident Report form needs to be filed within 24 hours for any of the first four scenarios above. The form must be submitted within five days for the property damage situation or disappearance of someone from the vessel in question.

In addition to reporting the accident, as required by state law, you should seek medical care right away to help link your injuries to the accident. If you wait, the other side may try to defend itself by claiming your injuries happened somewhere else or that you were not injured at all. It is also important to continue treatment to help demonstrate you are seriously injured.

When it is safe to do, gather information from the scene, especially pictures of your injuries and the accident scene, contact details of the boat owner and operator, and statements of any eyewitnesses, along with their contact information. It is also a good idea to get the registration number and insurance information of the vessel.

Types and Causes of Boating Accidents

There are many kinds of boating accidents that may have been caused by negligence:

• Collisions with other vessels
• Collisions with buoys, land or swimmers
• Fires and explosions
• Sinking of the boat
• Slip and fall accidents caused by wet surfaces
• People falling off the boat because of speeding

There are many reasons for these and other boating accidents. Such as lack of experience, violating boating laws or regulations, speeding, allowing too many people on the vessel, going out in bad weather, or even poor maintenance of the vessel.

No matter the cause, there may be a case. This is something to discuss with an experienced attorney as soon as possible.

Contact a Lansing Boat Accident Lawyer to Schedule a Free Consultation

There is no cost or risk to you to meet with our attorneys to determine if you may have a case and how we may be able to help you pursue it.

Our firm has obtained more than $500 million in compensation on behalf of our clients. We have extensive knowledge of state laws and regulations of boating that may apply to your claim.

Schedule your free consultation to learn more about how we may be able to assist you. There are no upfront costs for having us represent you. We do not get paid unless we recover compensation for you.