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Boating is a common pastime for many Lee County residents, and for visitors, renting a boat or going on a charter can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But sometimes, boating excursions are memorable for all the wrong reasons. Boat accidents are far more common than they should be, and many boaters find themselves in need of an experienced Lee County accident lawyer who can help them file a claim for proper compensation.

While some common causes of boat accidents are well-known—i.e., going too fast and creating dangerous wakes—others frequently go overlooked. Unfortunately, this makes them even more hazardous than they would be otherwise. As a boater, it is important to do what you can to protect your safety, and if you are involved in a boating accident, it is important to promptly hire a skilled accident lawyer from Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. to document what happened and who (or what company) is responsible.

Common (and Commonly Overlooked) Hazards for Boaters in Lee County, FL

With this in mind, here are five of the most commonly overlooked hazards for boaters in Lee County:

1. Unsafe Rental Boats

Unsafe rental boats can be hazards for both renters and other boaters. A variety of issues can make rental boats unsafe, including:

• Inadequate Safety Equipment – Rental boats that lack functioning safety switches (or kill switches), adequate life jackets, and other essential safety equipment can put renters and their passengers at risk.
• Inadequate Maintenance – Rental boats often get much more use than other vessels—and this means that they need much more maintenance as well. Failure to adequately maintain boats in rental fleets can leave renters vulnerable to collisions and other water-related accidents.
• Inadequate Instructions for Safe Operation – Inexperienced renters who are not familiar with how boats operate can be dangers to themselves and others. When rental companies fail to provide adequate instructions for safe operation, this can potentially have dire consequences.

These issues (among others) can provide clear grounds to hold boat rental companies accountable for accidents that could—and should—have been avoided. When a boat rental company is responsible for an accident on the water, all victims injured in the accident can hire a Lee County accident lawyer from Spivey Law Firm to help them seek proper compensation.

2. Intoxicated Boaters

Drinking behind the wheel of a boat is just as dangerous as drinking behind the wheel of a car, truck, or SUV. When boaters are intoxicated, not only are they less capable of maintaining control and making smart decisions, but they are also less capable of responding to potential emergencies.

Unfortunately, spotting an intoxicated boater can be difficult. While weaving is an obvious sign of drunk driving, boats rarely travel in a straight line. Currents, waves, wakes, and various other factors can all influence how boats travel across the water, and boaters will frequently need to steer around buoys and other hazards as well.

This means that, oftentimes, it will not be possible to spot an intoxicated boater until it is already too late. When drunk boaters cause accidents on the water, they can—and should—be held accountable. Just like automotive liability insurance, boater’s liability insurance generally covers accidents involving alcohol intoxication. As a result, seeking just compensation for a drunk boating accident will involve dealing with the drunk boater’s insurance company in most cases.

3. Shallow Water

Shallow water can present a variety of hidden risks for boaters. Some examples of the hidden (and often overlooked) risks associated with shallow water include:

• Sandbars and other submerged objects that present risks for collisions or groundings
• More turbulent waves and wakes
• Limited room for boats to safely maneuver around one another

While some shallow areas are marked with signs or buoys, many are not. Additionally, even when boats are equipped with depth sounders, these only tell boaters what is already beneath them. Chart plotters often lack the detail needed to identify dangerous shallows as well. All of these are factors that frequently lead to accidents in shallow waters along Florida’s Gulf Coast, on the Caloosahatchee River, and in Lee County’s other inland waterways.

4. Propeller Strikes

Even when a boat is idling, its propeller is spinning at dangerous speeds. The faster a boat is travelling, the more dangerous its propeller becomes.

As a result, propeller strikes frequently result in serious traumatic injuries. If help is not immediately available, severe lacerations from a propeller strike can even be life-threatening in some cases. Yet, far too many boaters ignore (or are unaware of) the risks associated with propeller strikes—and they put swimmers, snorkelers, and divers at risk unnecessarily. Here too, seeking just compensation after an accident will typically involve filing an insurance claim.

5.  Unsafe Speed and Failure to Avoid a Collision

One of the biggest causes of devastating boating related accidents is the failure of a boat or recreational vessel to operate at a safe speed and take action to avoid colliding with another vessel, person, or object. Under the United States Coast Guard navigational rules, every operator of a vessel is required to keep a proper lookout, maintain a safe speed, be alert to any risk of a collision, and take action to avoid a collision. Further, every operator of a vessel passing or overtaking another vessel shall give way and take all action to avoid colliding with the other vessel.

Although one vessel may technically have the right of way, and the other vessel should give way or yield to the approaching vessel. The law requires that both vessels take all action necessary to avoid a collision. Important considerations to all vessel operators include visibility, traffic density, maneuverability of the vessel, lighting, sea conditions, and the characteristics of the vessel. Navigational Rule 8 requires that all vessels take positive action to avoid a collision, including alteration of course and/or speed. 

If you were injured (or if you tragically lost a loved one) in a boat accident involving unsafe speed or the failure to avoid a collision, you should contact a Lee County accident lawyer at Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. about your legal rights.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Lee County Accident Lawyer Today

Do you need to know more about filing a claim for a boat accident in Florida? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. You do not pay us any attorney’s fees or costs until we recover money for you.

The founder of Spivey Law Firm, Attorney Randall L. Spivey, is a Florida Board-Certified Civil Trial Attorney. Less than 1% of all attorneys licensed by the Florida Bar Association are Board Certified in Civil Trial law. Randall Spivey has the knowledge and experience to handle your boating injury claim. Randall Spivey also has an AV Rated Preeminent Attorney Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating standard, signifying the greatest level of professional excellence for legal knowledge, communication skills, and ethical standards. Randall L. Spivey is also named as a Florida Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine.

To schedule a free consultation with Lee County accident lawyer Randall L. Spivey, call us at 239-337-7483 or toll-free at 888-447-4839, or contact us  online at SpiveyLaw.com  today.