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Boat/Yacht/Jet Ski-PWC Accidents-Virginia, West Virginia, North/South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers discuss PWC/jet ski and boating accidents and injuries
Boat/Yacht/Jet Ski-PWC Accidents
Virginia, West Virginia, North/South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers
Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina offer special amenities to residents and visitors: beautiful rivers, oceans, bays and waterways. One of the most popular aquatic pastimes is the use of a personal watercraft (PWC), including jet skis, waverunners, waterbikes and waterscooters, representing a market that has ballooned in the last couple of decades. Unfortunately, the explosive growth of PWC/jet ski use has led to more personal injuries and even deaths due to PWC/jet ski and boat collisions and accidents. This article by our Virginia (VA)/Carolina personal injury lawyers explores PWC safety and insurance coverage issues.
PWC stands for personal watercraft. Trade name craft, such as Sea-Doo® (Bombardier Recreational Products), Waverunner® (Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.), and JET SKI® (Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.) are types of PWC. Personal watercraft are defined as motorboats less than 16 feet in length that are powered by jet pumps, not propellers, where the persons stand, kneel, or sit on, rather than inside the boat. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) defines personal watercraft as Class A inboard boats, making the vehicle subject to the majority of rules and requirements which other powerboats follow.
While some PWC models can hit 60 mph or more, recent studies indicate that most owners do not race or make aggressive moves. When PWC accidents do occur, however, they can be severe. According to U.S. Coast Guard figures, nearly 50 percent of all boating accidents are PWC-related. Almost half of those lead to injuries; some 75 percent of severe, collision-related PWC injuries occur with two or more PWCs; and deaths related to PWC accidents generally are from blunt trauma, such as a hit to the head, not from drowning.
All too often, alcohol plays a role in waterway accidents. Statistics released through the USCG to the Insurance Information Institute show that over the last decade, accidents related to alcohol use by recreational boat users accounted for 7.5 percent of all cumulative boating mishaps.
What Insurance Applies?
When it comes to PWCs, the majority of Jet Ski, Sea-Doo, and other jet-powered craft aren't covered by homeowners policies. Tony Alcala, marketing and operations manager for Sun Coast General Insurance Agency Inc., which has been writing PWC policies for years, notes that there can be confusion with customers regarding just what is and isn't covered. "There's about a 50 percent ratio of consumers that think their homeowners policy covers their PWC," Alcala commented from his Laguna Hills, Calif., office. Virginia-based Boat U.S. Marine Insurance, with offices across the U.S., offers a PWC insurance program. So, any person operating a PWC should check with their insurance agent about proper coverage for their liability and actions on a PWC, and should consider a separate policy to cover the PWC.
Although PWC are involved in a disproportionate number of boating accidents (property damage and personal injury), they have a better safety record when it comes to boating fatalities. The main reason for low fatality rates on PWC is because all PWC operators, passengers, and persons being towed by a PWC, are required to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. Other boat operators and passengers are only required to have wearable life jackets on board, but are not required to wear them.
Many accidents are caused by the PWC operator's inexperience, inattention or failure to look out for hazards, swimmers or other boaters. Operators should take this responsibility by challenging themselves to learn as much as possible about their craft and staying alert during operation. They should continuously scan the water, especially to check the area behind their PWC before making any turns. Excessive speed causes or contributes to many accidents each year because manufacturers are making PWCs that reach speeds of 65-70 mph. Operators should keep their speed under control and not try to test the limit. Traveling at faster speeds amplifies everything, including tunnel vision, the potential for injury and less reaction time.
Maritime accidents involving negligence:
Vessel crews often work under hazardous conditions so that the vessel achieves the highest possible revenues. Sailors injured due to operating under dangerous or hazardous conditions, negligence of an employer, vessel operator or crew member, or due to the "unseaworthy" condition of the vessel have rights under the Jones Act. Injured sailors are generally entitled to recover wages, future earnings, medical expenses and damages for pain and suffering and other general damages. However, careful legal analysis must be made as to the time deadlines for filing such a claim, as well as whether state or federal workers compensation acts apply instead.
Jones Act & Death on the High Seas Act
The Jones Act, (Merchant Marine Act), allows injured sailors to recover damages from their employers for the negligence of the shipowner, the captain, or due to members of the crew. The law borrows provisions from the federal law applying to interstate railroad workers, and dictates that the provisions also apply to sailors. Employers must also usually provide injured sailors with transport home, wages while out, medical expenses, and in cases of negligence, potentially damages for pain and suffering. Also, if a death is a result of an employer's negligence or an unseaworthy vessel the family or estate may file for compensation under the Death on the High Seas Act.
Recreational boating and PWC accidents
Recreational boating and PWC accidents are subject to many types of city, county and state laws. Motor vehicle rules are often applied to recreational boating and in the case of accidents or boating injuries, negligence and fault are determined in similar ways. Depending upon what body of water the injury occurs upon (navigable waterways, etc.) legal rights may differ considerably.
Needless to say, when serious injuries (or wrongful death) occur off-shore involving boats, ships, yachts, or PWC's, you should immediately seek a qualified injury lawyer's advice as a complicated web of overlapping local, state and federal laws may apply. Our law firm, Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, provides free initial legal consultation on these and any personal injury or wrongful death case.
If you, a family member or friend have been injured due to a boating or PWC accident caused by careless or negligent conduct, check our case results section on this site, and we can provide specific legal advice to you during a free legal consultation. E-mail us with our contact form or call us at Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton’s toll free number.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.
How should you locate the best, top injury lawyer for your case?
Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:
Several Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition (Lewis-Injury Law, Shapiro-Railroad Injury Law) and been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .
In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal). Click on icons for more details.
Geographical Areas:
Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.
As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.
As to West Virginia (WV) personal injury claims: Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling, and any other town or county.
Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, NC, SC, KY & Wash., DC.
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