Award-Winning Houston Boating Accident Attorneys

Boating Accident Cases – Overview

Boating accidents can happen to anyone aboard a watercraft and can result in horrific injuries and even death regardless of the size of the boat, from a 10-foot fishing boat to the 1,200 foot Icon of the Seas cruise ship.

In 2023, recreational boating accidents, like fishing boat accidents, accounted for 564 deaths, 2,126 injuries, and approximately $63 million dollars in property damage.

Most boating accidents are entirely preventable and are caused by the negligence of another person such as operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, and excessive speed.  Additionally, a smaller percentage of boating accidents are due to a product defect or machinery failure.  In either of these cases, the injured persons and their families may be entitled to compensation from the product manufacturer or responsible operator and should consider speaking with a reliable boating accident attorney.

Most Common Types of Boating Accident Cases

According to the United States Coast Guard, some of the most common boating accidents include:

• Grounding, capsizing, sinking, or flooding/swamping
• Falls in or overboard from a vessel
• Persons ejected from a vessel
• Fires or explosions that occur while underway and while anchored, moored, or docked if the fire resulted from the vessel or vessel equipment
• Water-skiing accidents or other mishaps involving towable devices
• Collision with another vessel or object
• 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 that is not anchored, moored, or docked.
• Casualties where natural causes served as a contributing factor in the death of an individual but the determined cause of death was drowning
• Casualties from natural phenomena such as interaction with marine life (i.e. leaping sturgeon causes casualty to person) and interaction with nature (i.e. mountainside falls onto vessel causing casualties).
• Casualties where a person falls off an anchored vessel
• Casualties that result when a person departs an anchored, disabled vessel to make repairs, such as unfolding an anchor or cleaning out the intake of a jet-propelled vessel.

Boating Equipment Failures or Design Flaws – Product Liability Cases

Many boating accidents are a result of the negligence of the operator.  However, some boating accidents are a result of a design flaw in the boat’s equipment or defective parts used on the boat.  If the accident occurs due to a design flaw or defective parts, the injured party may file a product liability claim against the boat manufacturer or the manufacturer of the defective part or equipment. For example, if a boat’s steering system malfunctions while in use and fails to respond to the operators attempt to turn the boat and the boat crashes into another boat or an obstacle, the injured persons would have a product liability claim against the person or company responsible for the steering mechanism.  Thus, there are plenty of boating cases where the operator is not the one to blame.

Fishing Boat Accidents

Recreational fishing across the US has consistently increased in popularity over the last 10 years and reached a record high in 2020 as Americans adapted their lives to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Many popular fishing locations accessed by boats such as lakes and rivers cannot grow in response to this increased traffic which results in more crowded lakes and rivers with fishing boats. Unsurprisingly, many boating accidents occur on and between fishing boats in these popular lakes and rivers.  These fishing boats accidents ruin what was supposed to be a fun and relaxing day on the lake or river into a tragedy.  Most of these accidents are linked to operator negligence as many popular fishing areas have tight corners and blind sections which can result in collisions between fishing boats.

Jurisdiction of Boating Accident Cases

Determining where (jurisdiction) someone can bring a boating accident lawsuit is often extremely difficult and is filled with complicated rules.  For example, imagine a boat registered in Texas operated by someone from Oklahoma is involved in an accident off the coast of Louisiana.  Deciding on whether a Texas, Oklahoma, or Louisiana court has jurisdiction over the boat accident lawsuit is not immediately clear. To make matters worse, boating accidents involving cruise ships can be even more complicated as many of those accidents occur in international waters such as off the coast of Mexico, the Bahamas, and other Caribbean countries. Generally, the type of body of water where the accident occurred is going to be the main factor in determining which court has jurisdiction over the boating accident.  For example, accidents on non-navigable waters, such as inland lakes and ponds, will generally be brought in a state court in the county where the body of water is located in.  Conversely, accidents on navigable waters such as large rivers and oceans will generally be brought in federal court closest to where the accident occurred. Anyone injured in a boating accident should consult a top-rated boating accident attorney like the ones at Morrow & Sheppard due to the complexity of determining jurisdiction in boating accident cases.  Our attorneys are experts at determining which court is the proper court to bring your boating accident case.

How Common Are Boating Accident Cases

Boating accident cases have become increasingly common over the last 10 years given the steady number of boating accidents as a result of the increased popularity of on the water activities and boat ownership rates.  Unlike personal road motor vehicles, which have advanced dramatically with anti-collision technologies such as blind spot monitoring and lane assist technology, most boats are still using the same technology from decades ago to navigate the waters.  This means that boat operator’s mistakes are often magnified as there is no technology to prevent the boat from getting into an accident caused from an operator’s error.

How Much Are Boat Accident Cases Worth?

Boating accident cases are often very valuable due to the unfortunate combination of extreme force and the preventable nature of most accidents. Boating accident cases can range from just a few thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars, depending on the severity of the injury, the defendant, and the specific cause of the injury.

Examples of Boat Accident Cases Verdicts and Settlements

Boat accident cases can result in significant jury verdicts or settlements depending on the severity of the injuries, liability, and other factors such as medical expenses and lost wages.  Below are examples of boat accident verdicts and settlements:

$35 Million Jet Ski Jury Verdict – Defective Steering Design and Failure to Warn

In this case, a Yamaha jet ski’s lack of off-throttle steering led to a fatal collision with a boat, killing one teenager and causing permanent brain damage to another.  The jury determined that Yamaha was liable for failing to design the jet ski to steer without using the throttle and failing to properly warn operators that the jet ski would not steer without the throttle being applied.

$17 Million Duck Boat Collision Settlement

In 2010, two Hungarian students drowned and twelve others were injured when the duck boat on which they were riding was run over by a barge.  The evidence revealed that at the time of the collision, the barge operator was texting on his phone and was not paying attention to other boats in its path.  The family of the deceased and the surviving passengers were able to obtain a $17 million settlement.

Most Common Injuries In Boating Accident Lawsuits

Given the extreme forces involved, many boating accidents result in severe injuries to the victims of these accidents such as;

• Head injuries including concussions, skull fractures, or traumatic brain injuries;
• Amputations of limbs which are severed or crushed during an impact;
• Drowning or near-drowning injuries from victims that are thrown into the water after an accident; and
• Burn injuries from fires that can form after a collision.
• The damages that a victim can recover in a boating accident include damages for;
• Mental pain suffering and mental anguish caused as a result of the accident;
• Disfigurement caused by changes to your body’s appearance after the accident;
• Disabilities caused by the accident;
• Medical bills for past and future treatment;
• Lost wages after the accident and future lost wages if you cannot return to work and;
• Punitive damages the jury awards to punish any reckless conduct of the person or company who responsible for the accident.

Common locations of boating injury incidents:

Many of the most common locations for boating accidents in the Texas and Louisiana region are also some of the more popular and busy boating locations such as;

• Lake Travis and Lake LBJ in Austin, Texas
• Lake Lewisville in Dallas, Texas
• Lake Conroe in Houston, Texas
• Canyon Lake in San Antonio, Texas

While these lakes are some of the more common lakes where boating accidents occur, our office can assist with boating accidents nationwide including boating accidents in New Orleans, Plano, Brownsville, and Beaumont.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Boat Accident Law Firm?

Hiring an incompetent boating accident attorney could really cost you. If you or a loved one have been involved in a boating accident, give the attorneys at Morrow & Sheppard LLP a call.  The consultation with an attorney is free and you don’t pay anything unless the firm recovers funds for you.

Morrow & Sheppard Boating Accident Law Firm

Contact Morrow & Sheppard LLP today if you were involved in a boating accident and want to discuss which damages you might be able to recover in your case with an experienced boat accident injury lawyer.  Our attorneys are experts at maximizing the amount of damages that you can recover from your boating accident.