BOATING ACCIDENTS faq & information center

San Francisco Injury Lawyers > Boating Accidents > Boating Accident FAQ

A day of sun and fun of boating at the river, lake, bay, or ocean can quickly turn into disaster due to an accident that results in serious injury or even death to persons in or out of the boat. Especially on warm summer days and weekends, California's waterways become crowded with all types of watercraft ("vessels"), with operators having experience ranging from years of boating to first-timers who bought a boat or personal watercraft (PWC) and paid scant attention to how to properly and safely operate the vessel. Statistically, your chances of being injured or killed in a boating accident are highest on a Saturday or Sunday in July, between the hours of 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

There are over 12.5 million registered boats in the United States of every size and description. California is second only to Florida in the number of registered boats, with almost 900,000 registered vessels. They range from 8-foot sailboats to 16-foot ski boats to 25-foot cabin cruisers to 36-foot sailboats to 100-foot and larger luxury yachts. Then there are the personal watercraft (PWC)-jet skis and the like-inflatable boats and rafts, pontoon boats, houseboats, speedboats, and airboats. The vessels are used in a variety of ways, from fishing to skiing to pleasure cruising to around-the-world sailing to racing to white-water rafting and more.

Approximately 3,500 reported injuries and 700 reported deaths occur each year due to boating-related accidents. (The numbers of actual deaths and injuries related to boating accidents may be underreported because of the owner/operator's failure to know of reporting requirements, discussed below.) Injuries due to boat accidents can come from a variety of sources: from death by drowning, brain damage caused by lack of oxygen due to submersion in the water, severe traumatic bodily injuries inflicted by an unguarded propeller, colliding with another vessel, being run over by a boat or struck by a PWC, or the inhalation of a lethal level of carbon monoxide, to name a few. Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all reported fatalities.

Approximately two-thirds of boat-related fatalities are due to drowning. 90 percent of the victims who drown in a boating accident were not wearing a lifejacket at the time of the incident. 80 percent of all drownings and other deaths in boat-related fatalities involved boats less than 26 feet long. It is the boat owner/operator's duty to see to it that all passengers are correctly wearing proper-fitting lifejackets. The operator of the boat has a duty to see that there are a sufficient number of lifejackets for each and every passenger.

There are about 5,000 boating accidents each year, most of which are due to operator carelessness ("negligence"). Open boats without a cabin or skiffs are the most common type of boat to be involved in an accident. Personal watercraft (PWC) are the second most type of water vehicle involved in accidents, followed by open boats with a cabin.

The top five types of boating accidents are:

Collision with a vessel
Collision with a fixed object
Skier mishap
Falls overboard
Capsizing

Other types of boating accidents include:

Grounding, sinking, flooding, or swamping
Falls within a vessel
Persons ejected from a vessel
Fire or explosion
Mishap involving a towable device (tube)
Striking a submerged object
A person struck by a vessel, propeller, propulsion unit, or steering machinery
Carbon monoxide exposure
Electrocution due to stray current related to a vessel
Casualties while swimming from a vessel because a vessel is not anchored, moored, or docked, and the vessel drifts away from the swimmer and the swimmer is unable to get back to the vessel
Casualties while swimming from a vessel in an attempt to retrieve a lost item, another person, or another vessel

Many, if not most, boating accidents could be prevented by a skilled, attentive boat operator. In fact, most boating accidents are caused by the operator's negligence. The most frequent operator-controllable causes of or contributors to boating-related accidents are:

Operator inattention
Careless/reckless operation of the vessel
Excessive speed
Passenger or skier behavior
No proper lookout
Operator inexperience
Alcohol use
Restricted vision
Sharp turn
Rules of the road infraction
Improper loading/weight distribution
Overloading
Standing/sitting on gunwales, bow, or transom
Improper anchoring
Failure to ventilate
Lack of or improper lights
Drug use

Other conditions may not be operator controllable, but nonetheless may give rise to a lawsuit for negligence against the boat's owner/operator. For instance, the operator of the boat may have no control over angry seas, but taking the boat out in hazardous waters or foul weather may constitute negligence and subject the owner/operator to a negligence lawsuit if the boat were to capsize and the passengers injured or killed.

The owner of a boat is legally required to know the "rules of the road" and how to operate the boat safely so as not to pose an unreasonable risk of danger both to persons in and out of the boat. The owner can be held legally responsible ("liable") for all injuries and deaths caused by another person the owner lets operate the boat without ensuring that the person has experience with and is reasonably skilled at operating the kind of vessel in question and is not impaired by alcohol or drugs. 70 percent of reported boating-related fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction. The lowest number of fatalities and injuries occur among operators who have taken a course of instruction in boat safety by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.

In addition to knowing how to operate the vessel safely, the owner/operator must inspect the boat to ensure that it is in good shape for the purpose for which it is going to be used, i.e., that the boat is seaworthy. For instance, for an 18-foot ski boat, the operator must inspect the hull, the steering mechanism, the throttle, and other parts of the boat. Special attention should be given to the cleats to which the tow line is going to be attached to ensure they are securely anchored and do not pose a danger of coming loose and hitting someone in the boat or the skier. In motorboats, the operator must also check the fuel tank, engine, and other moving parts to ensure they are in good working order and not likely to fail or cause a fire or other untoward event.

Federal regulations require the operator of any vessel that is numbered or used for recreational purposes to file a Boating Accident Report (BAR) when, as a result of an occurrence that involves the vessel or its equipment:

A person dies; or
A person is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first aid (i.e., treatment is or should have been provided by a medical practitioner, such as a doctor, nurse, or emergency medical technician); or
A person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury; or
Damage to vessels and other property is $2,000 or more or there is a complete loss of any vessel.

Boat operators are required to report their accidents to authorities in the jurisdiction where the accident occurred. The report must be made within 48 hours of an occurrence if (1) a person dies within 24 hours of the occurrence; (2) a person requires medical treatment beyond first aid; or (3) a person disappears from the vessel. If the only damage is to the vessels and/or property (and is $2,000 or more), the incident must be reported within 10 days of the occurrence. The owner is required to submit the report when the operator cannot. Note that the above minimum reporting requirements are set by Federal regulations; individual States are free to impose stricter standards.

If you have been injured or a loved one killed in a boating accident, it is crucial that you obtain the services of an experienced personal injury law attorney as soon as possible. Depending upon the type of injury and nature of the accident, the attorney may want to send an investigator to the scene of the accident as soon as possible to get pictures of the accident site and talk to witnesses while the event is still fresh in their minds. In most cases, the attorney or investigator will want to inspect the boat or other vessel before it is repaired, altered, destroyed, or otherwise not available. In some cases, especially in cases involving serious injuries or death and a dangerous defect in the boat, your attorney may want to have the boat preserved in a secure storage lot so its condition cannot be changed and the jury can see the defective condition as it existed at the time of the accident.

If you own a boat, personal watercraft (PWC), or other vessel, you should check with your insurance agent to make sure your vessel is covered and that the limits of insurance are adequate to protect you in the event the injuries are catastrophic or the incident involves a death.

San Francisco Injury Lawyers > Boating Accidents > Boating Accident FAQ

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BOATING ACCIDENTS faq & information center