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A Lawyer Can Help You File a Boat Accident Lawsuit

A boat accident attorneys accident can leave you with severe medical bills and financial distress. A lawyer can assist in getting you the compensation you deserve.

In general, you may be able to recover damages by proving that an individual or entity had a duty to care and violated it, leading to your injuries. There are four major elements to a successful boat accident lawsuit:

Damages

Similar to other personal injury cases, boat accident victims are entitled to compensation for their losses. These damages can include medical expenses, lost wages and future earning capacity in addition to property damage, suffering and emotional stress.

The amount you are awarded by the jury will be contingent on the severity of your injuries and the length of time it takes you to recover. Jury settlements and awards tend to be higher for serious injuries. These can be traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as spinal cord injury (SCI) and permanent disfigurement.

It can be difficult to determine the person responsible for your boating accident. Your attorney will assess the causes of the incident and determine any parties who could be held responsible for liability for your losses. This could include the owner of the boat, any other boat drivers or anyone else who may have been aboard at the time that the accident occurred.

In certain situations, it could be possible to sue the boat's manufacturer when it is established that the defective component was responsible for your injury. This is called product liability and is governed by laws that govern automobile manufacturers. Consult an attorney as soon you're able to if you're thinking about making this claim. The attorney can guide you through the entire process and ensure that all damages are recovered.

Liability

It is important to realize that, like a car accident lawsuit a boating injury lawsuit must be able to prove four elements in order to be successful. This includes proving that the defendant's duty of care, the breach of that duty of care, actual damages, and causation. This is not an easy task, and requires the expertise of a seasoned personal injury lawyer.

Recklessness and negligence can cause boating accidents. Like the standard rules of driving and boating, there are safety rules that must be adhered to. In addition, if the incident was caused by the operator being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs and he or she could be held liable. Due to the unstable nature and the conditions of water and weather boating requires a higher concentration and vigilance.

A successful lawsuit for a boating accident can result in compensation damages, which are intended to pay the victim for their costs and losses. These costs comprise direct medical bills and lost wages resulting from absence from work and property damage as well as pain and suffering and more. If you have health coverage, it will usually cover a portion of these costs. This is particularly relevant for maritime workers who are covered through the Jones Act, a century-old regulation which provides maritime workers injured with a means to recover similar to workers' compensation.

Preparation

While no amount of money will bring the family member who was injured or killed in an accident on the water, compensation for damages can aid families in coping with the unexpected financial burdens that come with their losses. As with car accidents, boating accidents usually involve multiple parties that may share the blame for the crash. It is crucial to hire a reputable legal representative in the event of a claim for damages.

Usually the victims of boat accidents can obtain the same damages as they would in a lawsuit for car accidents for property damage, medical expenses and lost earnings due to missed time at work. They can also seek damages for emotional trauma and suffering and loss of enjoyment in their lives.

Boating accidents can be caused by a variety of factors, but in most cases, a person or a company is held accountable for an accident on the waterway due to their negligence. Boat operators, boat owners and employers are all common defendants.

In some cases it is possible that a person working on a boat may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits in the event that they are injured in an accident, however it's usually a separate process than filing an injury claim on behalf of a person injured in the same incident.

Filing

A serious boating incident can be devastating, regardless of whether you own a luxury yacht or a smaller fishing boat. A skilled attorney can assist you in recovering damages for your loss.

Someone who is injured in a boating accident may pursue a personal injury suit against the person who was at fault for damages. A successful claim could cover medical expenses loss of wages, pain and suffering, as well as other financial losses that are related to the incident. The severity of your injury will determine how much you owe the defendant. For example, a victim with a traumatic brain injury or a serious spinal cord injury is likely to face substantial medical bills as well as loss of future earning capacity.

In addition to proving negligence the plaintiff must also prove the causation. This means that the defendant violated their duty of exercising reasonable care in order to avoid harming other boaters and this was the direct cause of your injuries. Some examples of violations include driving a boat intoxicated and recklessly losing control of a vessel or not allowing enough space for other vessels.

An experienced lawyer will review the evidence and determine who is at fault for the accident. They will also negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company of the defendant as well as other legal counsel. If a settlement cannot be reached the case will be heard at trial, and at that point the jury will make a decision on the liability and damages.