Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed in various boat related accidents. Most of these accidents are usually preventable, and they happen on different water vessels such as cruise ships, private boats, jet skis and other waster crafts. In case one gets involved in a water craft accident, he should always ensure that he secures available evidence that will be used by a specific law firm to handle his claims. This will make the process easier and quicker.
What causes boat accidents?
These can be quite disastrous depending on the intensity of the accident. Most boat accidents are caused by preventable factors such as inexperience and inattention of the operator. Another major cause of water craft accidents is alcohol consumption. From recent research, it has been identified that a boat operator who has a blood alcohol concentration of more than ten is more likely to cause an accident compared to an operator who is not drunk. In order to reduce these accidents, boat operators should be given serious education on safe boat riding.
Examples of boat accidents
Boat accidents can take many forms. Depending on the type of accident experienced, different degrees of damages are incurred. In most places, for an accident to be reportable, its damages have to exceed a total of $500. The following are some of the different forms of water craft accidents; fire, explosion, disappearance, capsizing, collisions and sinking.
Conditions in which a boating accident report must be filed
Below are some of the conditions that make it a must for a boating accident report to be filed:
- In case any person who was boarding the vessel disappears
- There is an injured person who requires medical attention that goes beyond first aid
- If there is a life lost as a result of the accident
- In case the vessel or any other property has been damaged
Filing of reports must also take place within; ten days if there is only damage to the vessel, forty eight hours if a life was lost during the accident and forty eight hours if there was an injured person who needed urgent medical care.
Legal help
In case one experiences an accident, he or his family should consider consulting an eligible law firm in order to secure the evidence that may lead to compensation. It is always important for one to hire a boat accident injury lawyer who has the resources required to determine the causes of the accident. There are many lawyers who deal with water craft accident injuries, and in order to find the best, one should just assess them by the number of successful cases they have handled in the past.
Mark Tobies is a freelance journalist who is passionate about law. He enjoys writing about criminal and personal injury law, and most recently, has written for accident lawyers in Toronto. Mark hopes to one day work in a court of law.