Many West Palm Beach boat owners enjoy taking advantage of their easy access to the coast to fish, explore, entertain friends, and transport goods. When boat operators behave negligently or encounter obstacles on the water, they can become severely injured in a boating accident.
Injured boaters may find themselves saddled with staggering medical debt, costly boat repairs, and crippling stress. Unfortunately, some boating accidents claim lives or leave injured boaters with permanent deficits that impact their quality of life and ability to work. When a serious boating accident has jeopardized your future, you need a reputable personal injury attorney to represent your interests in a boating accident lawsuit. Call our West Palm Beach boat accident lawyers to discuss your case.
If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a devastating boating accident, it is your right to seek damages against the party whose negligence was responsible for the accident and your injuries. KMW Legal has spent the past decade helping injured boating accident clients recover fair settlements that respect the true value of their losses.
Our firm is unusual in that we have a background in trial experience, which we have successfully leveraged to negotiate maximum compensation from insurance companies who want to avoid the expense and publicity of a trial. KMW Legal has an outstanding track record of recovering damages for West Palm Beach clients who were injured in boating accidents.
We encourage you to consult with our West Palm Beach team in a free strategy session about your boat crash claim. Our award-winning lawyers will offer advice that pertains to your individual claim and explain the services you can expect from KMW Legal.
In 2020, there were 836 boating accidents on Florida waterways and along the coast. In most cases, it is reckless boat operators who are responsible for serious boating accidents. When their negligence can be tied to the accidents and your injuries, other boaters may be found liable for the cost of your damages in a boating accident lawsuit. An experienced boating accident lawyer in West Palm Beach can work with you to connect the negligent act that caused the accident to the medical bills, lost wages, and other costs you have accumulated.
Just like drivers on land, boat operators must observe posted speed limits when navigating Florida’s waters. When a boat operator breaks the speed limit to show off for friends or because they became distracted, the consequences can be serious. Even if a speeding boat is able to avoid colliding with another boat in its path, boat occupants may be launched overboard or thrown against hard surfaces if the boat comes to a sudden stop or turns sharply.
Inexperienced boaters typically lack the skills and judgment that are necessary to safely operate a boat. They may inadvertently put themselves and their passengers at risk by making mistakes like ignoring rules governing the waterways, making unsafe stops and turns, or underestimating weather conditions. If a boating accident or collision does happen, inexperienced boaters are less likely to know how to signal for help or extract themselves from a dangerous situation.
In Florida, driving a boat while drunk or under the influence of drugs is illegal and incredibly dangerous. You can even receive a ticket or be arrested for boating under the influence, as alcohol and drugs impair the brain’s capacity to make sound judgments. Drunk boaters may not recognize a mechanical issue or obstacle until it is too late to avoid it.
They are also prone to make reckless errors, like speeding, ignoring weather warnings, forgetting lifevests, and misjudging the depth of water. This can lead boaters to become stranded or collide with other vessels.
When taking a boat out on the water, you have to be aware of your surroundings on all sides. Experienced boaters will sometimes become overconfident and assume that they do not need a lookout as a backup to alert them to impending obstacles or changing conditions. Designating a lookout can help prevent collisions with other boats, marine life, and debris or natural obstacles.
Weather conditions can shift quickly out on the water. Strong currents, windy conditions, and heavy rains can pull boats off course or even capsize them. While boat operators cannot control the weather, they must remain vigilant about changing weather conditions so that they can allow enough time to return to shore.
If they fail to closely monitor the weather, they can end up trapped in a storm or stranded without supplies. Injuries may occur when boat occupants are struck by unsecured items, slip on surfaces made slick by rain, or are pitched overboard.
Boat owners are responsible for keeping their vessels in good repair. This includes changing the oil, replacing damaged fuel lines, and ensuring that the lights are working properly. It is important to properly maintain your boat to avoid being stranded or involved in a boating accident in the first place. For example, it would be dangerous to take a boat with a burnt-out masthead light out on the water because that makes it difficult for other boats to detect the presence of another vessel in their path and adjust accordingly to avoid a collision.
Boating accidents can leave you with anything from minor scrapes and bruises to injuries like concussions that can result in permanent brain damage or paralysis. In a collision, there are many sharp edges, like propeller blades, and hard surfaces that can become dangerous when the boat is unexpectedly jolted. The jolt from the impact of a boat hitting a sandbar or other watercraft can be enough to cause injuries, like whiplash, even without direct contact with a hard surface.
Disembarking from the boat can also lead to injury. People who dive off of boats without protective gear, strong swimming skills, or knowledge of the landscape have been known to sustain broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or even drown.
Others sustain injuries while stepping off the boat and onto a dock. When a worn-out or faulting wiring system creates a deadly charge in the water at a marina, people have been known to incur life-threatening electrical burns or drown when the boat is parked in the marina.
After a traumatic boat accident, your injuries may extend beyond physical scars. While in recovery, you may struggle with mental health issues, such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression. Recovery is often isolating, which can amplify these feelings. Your emotional health may begin to influence your physical health, extending your recovery time and leaving you feeling defeated.
As boating accident lawyers in Tampa with a decade of experience, we are familiar with the toll physical and mental injuries take. That’s why we won’t push you to accept a settlement that offers you less than what you deserve for the losses you have suffered.
In the fallout of a boating accident, expenses can often pile up quickly in the form of medical bills, boat repair costs, and lost wages. If you are unable to return to work due to your injuries or are faced with the prospect of having to start over by choosing a new career, you may feel like your debt is insurmountable.
KMW Legal wants to reassure you that you do not have to shoulder this burden alone. If someone else’s negligence caused a boating accident that has resulted in your injuries and associated damages, you are entitled to seek damages in a boating accident lawsuit in order to restore your financial, physical, and emotional losses.
Many people find it difficult to return to their daily lives after enduring a painful and exhausting recovery, losing a loved one, or being forced to sacrifice their lifestyle to accommodate the limitations of their bodies post-accident. While these costs are not as tangible as the price of a prescription or a new hull, they are nevertheless valid and worthy of compensation in a Tampa boating accident lawsuit.
Boating accident lawyers in Tampa can be instrumental in securing a fair settlement offer from an insurance company. In most cases, insurance companies want to settle for the minimum amount they are obligated to payout, even if that leaves your bills unsatisfied.
What this means for you is that your ability to recover your costs is heavily dependent upon documenting, contextualizing, and connecting your injuries to the damages you have sustained because of the negligent boat operator’s actions. There is no more suitable expert to assist you with that agenda than a boating accident lawyer.
Consulting with a practiced boat crash lawyer can give you valuable insight into common insurance company tactics, assistance negotiating the terms of your settlement, and a network of resources to rely on. When your financial stability and health are in jeopardy, it’s time to secure a respected boating accident lawyer to handle your claim.
For the past decade, KMW Legal has relentlessly pursued maximum compensation for West Palm Beach residents who were injured in boating accidents. We have witnessed firsthand how crushing debt, lengthy recoveries, and compromised careers can impact injured boaters and their families.
As your advocate, we will manage inquiries from debt collectors, sift through medical records and property damage reports, and draft statements to the insurance company that protect your interests. Our tireless worth ethic and attention to detail allow us to provide top-notch, individualized advice to injured boating accident clients.
At KMW Legal our clients trust us to have their backs through the process of filing a boating accident claim, and we don’t let them down. We encourage our clients to review our services, so you can see for yourself that we hold ourselves to the highest standard when it comes to recovering compensation for our clients.
With 117,415 residents, West Palm Beach is the largest city in Palm Beach County. West Palm Beach is known for its diverse art museum, performing arts center, and rich history. It is located along Florida’s eastern coast, making it an ideal location for boat owners to use their boats for business, recreation, or research.
KMW Legal steadfastly advocates for injured West Palm Beach residents who have been involved in serious boating accidents. With our support, many boating accident victims have been able to recover damages for their financial, physical, and mental losses caused by someone else’s negligence.
Most Floridians are aware of the dangers of being on the water, but boating accidents can happen to even the most experienced sailors. When you have been injured in a boating accident resulting from someone else’s negligence, the last thing you want to be worried about is dealing with dense paperwork and insurance adjusters.
At Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh, we have taken on powerful insurance companies in negotiations and in court and emerged with substantial settlements in hand for our clients. You can depend on us to be your champion and protect your right to recover damages for losses like medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress.
By choosing a skilled, reputable West Palm Beach boat accident lawyer to represent you, you can level the playing field and significantly increase your chances of recovering your damages in a boating accident lawsuit. Reach out to our office at your convenience to claim a no-cost, no-commitment strategy session with our team.
