Negligence happens on the water, too.

Commercial boaters, recreational boaters, and swimmers are injured in boating accidents frequently in Florida. These accidents can involve any number of situations, including boat to boat contact, boat to swimmer contact, or boat to fixed object contact.

Just as with car accidents, these injuries can stem from soft tissue injuries all the way to wrongful death. These types of injuries can leave people in pain, up to their ears in medical bills, and bewildered with what to do next.

Protections for Boat Accident Victims

The good news is that Florida has laws protecting boaters from the negligence or carelessness of others and requires that people injured on the water be compensated by the person that caused these injuries, just as Florida has protection for people injured in car accidents.

Florida requires that all boaters follow both state and federally mandated navigation laws for the safety of others. These laws make up the “rules of the road” for all boaters. These laws apply not only to commercial watercraft, but pleasure or recreational boaters as well–just as our traffic laws apply equally to both passenger car accidents and trucking accidents. Florida even levies criminal penalties to boaters if their careless actions on the water cause serious personal or bodily injury to others.

Get Help In Protecting Your Rights

If you have been injured in a boating accident due to another’s carelessness or neglect, you have similar rights as those that have been injured in car accidents. Just as a person injured in a car accident due to no fault of their own would consult with an automobile accident lawyer, a person involved in a boating accident should consult a boat accident lawyer to protect their rights going forward.

As with any other type of accident, you may be entitled to have your medical bills and future costs paid if your injuries were caused by another’s neglect or carelessness on the water. If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed in a boating accident, please call us at 850-438-4848 for a free consultation.