Boating Accidents / Maritime Law
According to the United States Coast Guard, for 2006:
- The number of boating deaths, injuries and property damage increased
for the second consecutive year and when compared to 2005 are as follows: 710 deaths vs. 697; 3,474 injuries vs. 3,451; and $43,670,424 in
property damage vs. $38,721,088.
- Overall, two-thirds of all fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those
who drowned, ninety (90) percent of the victims were not wearing their life
jacket. Eight out of every ten boaters who drowned were using boats less
than 20 feet in length.
- Consistent with previous years, 70% of reported fatalities occurred o
boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction.
Operator inattention, carelessness/reckless operation, excessive speed,
and no proper lookout are the primary contributing factors in all reported
accidents.
- Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents;
accounting for nearly twenty (20) percent of all reported fatalities.
- Twenty-nine (29) children age 12 and under lost their lives while boating in
2006; compared to 21 children in 2005 and 14 children in 2004. Nearly
twice as many children drowned in 2006 (15) compared to 2005 (8).
- The most common types of boats involved in reported accidents were
open motorboats (45%), personal watercraft (PWC) (24%) and cabin
motorboats (14%). A significant increase was observed in the number of
reported fatalities associated with the use of canoes/kayaks (99) when
compared to 2005 (78).
- Not all boating accidents are the fault of another, but in certain cases such as alcohol use, negligent operation and other driver error that results in injury or death, the victim or victim’s family may be entitled to compensation.
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