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Maritime Injury Attorneys

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Maritime Injury Attorneys

The state of Georgia is a water lover’s delight, with more than 2,000 miles of shore and coastline, plus multiple lakes and rivers. This much water means boating and water sports fans are never without a place to play. Along with all the sailing, boating, and jet skiing, though, comes a great deal of responsibility. These extremely popular activities carry a high liability risk for watercraft owners and operators.

Serious injuries occur far too often due to the negligent handling of such watercraft. Tragically, these enjoyable activities can turn deadly when boating laws and safety guidelines are not followed. The Coast Guard reports that more than 4,000 boating accidents in 2018 resulted in 633 deaths. Over 2,500 people were injured, and damage to property reached approximately $46 million.

What is Maritime Law?

Our boating accident lawyers have vast experience litigating cases in the area of maritime law, and we will always fight for the maximum amount of compensation due to injury victims. Maritime law, also known as Admiralty Law, is defined as a series of laws, conventions, and treaties which govern international private businesses along with matters concerning ships, shipping, or other crimes and offenses which occur on the open water. These are laws between nations that govern issues such as national versus international waters and are considered to be public international laws that are known as “Laws of the Seas.”

Federal, state, and international maritime laws each have their own regulations regarding boating accidents. As a result, building a claim to receive compensation can be a complicated process.

Causes of Boating Injuries

While out at sea or simply on a dock or loading wharf, there are many dangers as the conditions of the sea can never be precisely determined. Certain behaviors lend themselves to causing dangerous boating accidents. Additionally, unknown or unseen factors can also come into play creating a recipe for disaster. When any of the following circumstances are involved, the likelihood of an accident increases:

  • Excess speed
  • Reckless operation
  • Inadequate or improper boat maintenance
  • Explosion or fire onboard
  • Flooding or capsizing
  • Lack of safety equipment
  • Defective boat equipment

It’s important to note that these conditions may lead to many different causes of boating injuries and in some cases, possible death if the person is not attended to by medical professionals immediately.

Excess Speed

When comparing speeding on the highway in an automobile to speeding on the water in a boat, the latter is definitely more dangerous. There are no brakes on a boat to help stop the fast-moving object. The excess speed puts limitations on human response time, thereby restricting the ability to make evasive moves quickly if needed. High speeds on rough water can lead to unexpected movement and result in a loss of control. Such a situation can easily cause passengers to be thrown out of the boat.

Reckless Operation

A person can often see numerous forms of recklessness when on the water boating. Some careless individuals ignore the “no wake” zones while trying to show off. Others refuse to follow the navigational rules. Others get distracted while operating a boat and pay less attention to the boat than they do to their phone. Among some of the most dangerous people, though, are those individuals who operate a boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The U.S. Coast Guard published a 2018 report in which it named alcohol use as the number one cause of fatalities in boating accidents where it was possible to determine the primary cause. Nineteen percent of boating deaths are attributed to alcohol use.

Inadequate or Improper Boat Maintenance

As boat owners know, a lot of work is required to safely keep a vessel seaworthy. The need for thorough maintenance given at regular intervals by skilled technicians or owners cannot be overemphasized. Unaddressed mechanical or structural matters, as well as any unknown problematic issues, can lead to disastrous consequences. A boat’s steering mechanism, engine, railings, deck, and hull cannot be neglected or tragedy could await.

Explosion or Fire Onboard

The amount of fuel carried in a boat, along with the highly flammable materials on board, set the stage for a potential firestorm. The fuel may be in an area with poor ventilation in a very confined space, and it can spill creating an even greater hazard. Explosions and fires, of course, can easily produce critical injuries and burns and cause a vessel to sink.

Flooding or Capsizing

No one should think of any watercraft as being unsinkable. This mindset can lead people to grow lax in their safety measures while on the water. Leaks can spring from unknown and unseen weaknesses in the hull. Stormy weather and rough seas can overwhelm the best of boats. The smaller a sailing vessel is, the easier it can be capsized by bad weather. Passengers can be thrown overboard into the water or trapped inside.

Lack of Safety Equipment

Tragically, 76 percent of deaths stemming from boating accidents are the result of drowning, per the U.S. Coast Guard. There can only be two possible reasons for this statistic to be so high.

  • One, the boat was not adequately equipped with enough life jackets for all on board, or
  • Two, not all passengers safely and correctly wore a life-saving device while out on the water.

Sadly, at least two-thirds of individuals who drown are proficient swimmers. When a person is injured, though, their ability to swim well is severely limited, and they more easily drown. Amazingly, if life jackets are properly worn, they can help lower the number of boating fatalities by at least 50 percent.

Defective Boat Equipment

The complexity of a boat’s composition cannot be easily grasped by someone unfamiliar with watercraft. The parts include engines, fuel tanks, generators, drivelines, wires, propellers, batteries, electronics, hull, seating materials, steering mechanisms, and more. If a small, nearly imperceptible defect exists anywhere in the craft, it can mushroom over time, unnoticed, and lead to a disastrous accident. Defective parts can easily lead to loss of life on the water.

Types of Maritime Injuries

Of course, as with these causes, there are also several types of maritime injuries that may occur. These injuries can vary in severity depending on the situation of the accident and a number of other factors involved. In most cases, the cause of an injury is directly correlated with the type of injury. These injuries may also vary in severity depending on the number of factors that caused the injury including; objects, people, speed, and force of an impact.

From the perspective of a maritime worker or vessel operator, due to the large equipment that is often involved while on the waterfront – handling barges, containers, hazardous cargoes, and other commodities while on the waterfront, the personal and property damages can be substantial and can often lead to injuries that are life-changing for the victim and their families.

A few types of maritime injuries include (but are not limited to):

  • Back injuries
  • Broken Bones
  • Concussion
  • Decompression sickness
  • Drowning
  • Internal Injuries
  • Lacerations
  • Loss of Limb
  • Neck injuries
  • Puncture Wounds
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Wrist Injuries

If you are suffering from a maritime injury, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately to prevent further damage from occurring. In addition, these medical documents can be used by our attorneys against a negligent individual or entity who may have caused the injury.

Seafarers’ Legal Rights

In the United States, our constitution grants original jurisdiction to the United States federal court over maritime and admiralty matters. Of course, this jurisdiction is not always exclusive, and many cases may be heard in either state or federal courts under the “saving to suitors” clause.

Keeping this in mind, there are five different types of cases that can be brought to federal court.

These cases include:

  • Limitation of Ship-owners Liability
  • Vessel Arrests in Rem
  • Property arrests Quasi in Rem
  • Salvage Cases
  • Petitory and Possession Actions

All of these cases have a common element which requires the court to exercise jurisdiction over the maritime property. Maritime law is also governed by a three-year statute of limitations for wrongful death and personal injury cases, cargo cases must be presented before two years, and cruise ship passengers typically have a one-year statute of limitations available.

Filing a Maritime Law Claim

Georgia has a unique set of circumstances because it has shoreline on lakes and rivers and also on interstate or international waters. When a boating accident occurs in the latter category of waters, the laws of the state do not apply. Instead, maritime law applies. Individuals who are injured in such situations should seek legal assistance from a highly qualified maritime attorney. Lawsuits within the scope of maritime law are generally fairly complex, so having a skilled and experienced maritime injury lawyer can mean the difference between a successful outcome or failure.

Injured While Working – Workers who are injured while on their primary job’s vessel may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits due to the Jones Act. Qualifying for benefits requires proving that unseaworthy conditions existed, or the accident was caused by the employer’s negligence. Unseaworthiness is proven by showing that some equipment onboard or the vessel’s condition or the crew was not correctly fit for its intended purpose. As an example, if members of the crew were not properly trained or some appliance onboard was broken, either of these qualifies to establish an unseaworthy condition.

Boating Accidents Under Georgia Law

Injuries that occur in boating accidents on lakes and rivers in Georgia fall under state law. For accidents happening on a landlocked lake or water not included in interstate or international commerce, there is a time restriction for filing a lawsuit. The statute of limitations in these cases is two years.

If the injury victim adds loss of consortium to the legal claim, though, the time limit for filing increases to four years. This additional aspect, loss of consortium, means the companionship of a spouse has been adversely affected by the injury. In any case, given the time restrictions, it is obvious that a victim should give serious thought to conferring with a highly skilled personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible.

Who is Allowed to Operate Watercraft?

Georgia law dictates who is allowed to operate a boat. The following gives a breakdown:

  • Children under 12 can operate a non-motorized vessel under 16 feet in length. When a competent adult is on board, the child can operate a vessel with a motor that is 30 horsepower or less.
  • According to Georgia law, a competent adult is sober, has valid photo identification, and is 18 years of age or older.
  • If a young person between the ages of 12 and 15 has successfully completed a Department of Natural Resources-approved boating education course, he or she may operate a boat that measures less than 16 foot. In lieu of taking the course, this age group can, instead, have a competent adult onboard.
  • Individuals 16 years of age or older who have successfully completed the state’s boater education course and who have valid identification can operate any boat.
  • Anyone born on January 1, 1998, or after must successfully complete a boating education course to operate a boat.

Equipment Required

For the safe operation of watercraft, the vessel must be equipped with certain safety features, including:

  • Bell, whistle or horn
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Muffler
  • Ventilation system

In addition, each boat must carry a life jacket or personal flotation device for each individual on the boat. At all times when a vessel is moving on the water, each person under age 13 must be wearing a life preserver. If someone drowns or nearly drowns from being on a vessel without enough life preservers, the operator of the boat could be found liable.

Boaters Under the Influence

The law in Georgia makes it illegal for anyone to operate a boat, sailboat, personal watercraft or water skis if under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Boating under the influence (BUI) is strictly prohibited by the Georgia Boat Safety Act. Anyone convicted of this crime is subject to potential fines, charges, and jail time, in addition to losing boating privileges.

Individuals who have not yet reached the age of 21 are considered intoxicated by law if the concentration of alcohol in their blood is 0.02. For people age 21 or over to be considered intoxicated, their blood level of alcohol must be 0.08 or higher.

Filing a Boating Accident Lawsuit

For anyone who has personally experienced injury or has lost a family member due to another person’s negligence that caused a boating accident, you have our condolences. But more than that, The Eichholz Law Firm can offer you assistance in determining whether you are eligible to receive compensation for the tragedy.

Contact our boating accident lawyers today at 855-551-1019 or fill out an online contact form.

References

  • Boat.ed. “Georgia Boating Laws and Regulations”, Boat.ed, https://www.boat-ed.com/georgia/handbook/page/32/Boating-Accidents/. Accessed May 20, 2020.
  • Georgia DNR. “Boating Rules and Regulations”, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, https://gadnrle.org/boating-rules-regulations. Accessed May 20, 2020.
Please seek the advice of a medical professional before making health care decisions.
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