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Is there a legal definition for a boating accident under maritime law? According to the
Coast Guard, a recreational boating accident means a recreational vessel, numbered
vessel, or documented vessel is being used by its operator for recreational purposes
and one or more of the following events occur involving the vessel and its equipment:
▪ Grounding
▪ Capsizing
▪ Flooding/Swamping
▪ Falls within or overboard a vessel
▪ Person(s) ejected from a vessel
▪ Person leaves a vessel that is underway to swim for pleasure
▪ Person leaves a vessel to retrieve a lost item, another person, or vessel
▪ Sinking
▪ Fire or Explosion
▪ Skier Mishap
▪ Collision with another vessel or object
▪ Striking a submerged object
▪ The vessel, propeller, propulsion unit or steering machinery strikes a person
▪ Carbon monoxide asphyxiation
▪ Electrocution
As a general guideline, if any of these events occur and there is a reasonable likelihood
that as a result of the event(s) - an injury, death, or property damage occurs, the
incident is a recreational boating accident.
Regardless of how you define a boating accident, one thing is certain…it would be nice
if there were less of them. To understand how they might be prevented, one might look
at the causes of boating accidents. In its accident statistics, the Coast Guard lists the
top ten contributing factors to pleasure boat accidents. Ranking from highest to lowest,
in 2004 these were:
(1.)
(2.)
(3.)
(4.)
(5.)
(6.)
(7.)
(8.)
(9.)
(10.)
Going back to the Coast Guard study, they identified the top five types of boating
accidents. In 2004, starting at the highest rate of occurrence, these were (1.) Collision
with Vessel, (2.) Collision with a Fixed Object, (3.) Falling Overboard, (4.) Capsizing and
(5.) Skier Mishap.
Since boating accidents impact peoples’ lives in such terrible ways, it’s worth doing all
that we can to avoid them. While some accidents might not appear preventable, there’s
something we can all do to make boating safer. We can use our lifejackets. This may
seem like tiresome advice you hear from every boating safety expert out there. But
when you look at the Coast Guard reports, the statistics show that fatalities were
always lower where the boater wore a life jacket.
To see how the Coast Guard collects and manages information related to boating
accidents, click Recreational Boating Accident Statistics.
Source: “You’re In Command, Boat Responsibly” - Boating Statistics 2004
United States Coast Guard Pub. P16754.18
Tim Akpinar Contact Information:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Street
Address:
Mailing
Address:
Website:
© 2006 by Tim Akpinar - All Rights Reserved
The contents of this website may not be copied or transmitted without the
prior written consent of Tim Akpinar
Coast Guard, a recreational boating accident means a recreational vessel, numbered
vessel, or documented vessel is being used by its operator for recreational purposes
and one or more of the following events occur involving the vessel and its equipment:
▪ Grounding
▪ Capsizing
▪ Flooding/Swamping
▪ Falls within or overboard a vessel
▪ Person(s) ejected from a vessel
▪ Person leaves a vessel that is underway to swim for pleasure
▪ Person leaves a vessel to retrieve a lost item, another person, or vessel
▪ Sinking
▪ Fire or Explosion
▪ Skier Mishap
▪ Collision with another vessel or object
▪ Striking a submerged object
▪ The vessel, propeller, propulsion unit or steering machinery strikes a person
▪ Carbon monoxide asphyxiation
▪ Electrocution
As a general guideline, if any of these events occur and there is a reasonable likelihood
that as a result of the event(s) - an injury, death, or property damage occurs, the
incident is a recreational boating accident.
Regardless of how you define a boating accident, one thing is certain…it would be nice
if there were less of them. To understand how they might be prevented, one might look
at the causes of boating accidents. In its accident statistics, the Coast Guard lists the
top ten contributing factors to pleasure boat accidents. Ranking from highest to lowest,
in 2004 these were:
(1.)
(2.)
(3.)
(4.)
(5.)
(6.)
(7.)
(8.)
(9.)
(10.)
Going back to the Coast Guard study, they identified the top five types of boating
accidents. In 2004, starting at the highest rate of occurrence, these were (1.) Collision
with Vessel, (2.) Collision with a Fixed Object, (3.) Falling Overboard, (4.) Capsizing and
(5.) Skier Mishap.
Since boating accidents impact peoples’ lives in such terrible ways, it’s worth doing all
that we can to avoid them. While some accidents might not appear preventable, there’s
something we can all do to make boating safer. We can use our lifejackets. This may
seem like tiresome advice you hear from every boating safety expert out there. But
when you look at the Coast Guard reports, the statistics show that fatalities were
always lower where the boater wore a life jacket.
To see how the Coast Guard collects and manages information related to boating
accidents, click Recreational Boating Accident Statistics.
Source: “You’re In Command, Boat Responsibly” - Boating Statistics 2004
United States Coast Guard Pub. P16754.18
Tim Akpinar Contact Information:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Street
Address:
Mailing
Address:
Website:
© 2006 by Tim Akpinar - All Rights Reserved
The contents of this website may not be copied or transmitted without the
prior written consent of Tim Akpinar
| When you look at the top ten contributing factors of boating accidents cited by the Coast Guard (below to the right, numbered 1 through 10), some of them boil down to negligence. Negligence means that someone had a duty to follow a certain standard of care in operating a vessel. They failed to follow that standard and as a result, someone was injured or something was damaged. If the injury was causally related to the departure from that standard of care…and the injury was foreseeable, then the offender is liable for negligent operation of a vessel. If the level of negligence is so gross…the departure from the standard of care so great…the offense can rise a level of criminal negligence. In criminal negligence, the vessel operator fails to recognize a very serious risk. Compare this with recklessness, where the crime results from the vessel operator recognizing a risk…but disregarding it. An example could be two speedboats racing through a flotilla of children engaged in a sailboat race. The speedboaters couldn’t argue that they failed to recognize a risk….that would be absurd. They clearly recognized the risk…they created it! But they ignored it because they wanted to have a race. Criminal liability is defined by statute…and depending on where a serious boating accident occurs, the penal codes can be worded differently from state to state. |
(718) 224-9824
t.akpinar@verizon.net
250-02 Northern Blvd - Suite 200
Little Neck, New York 11363
P.O. Box 620766
Little Neck, New York 11362
www.mycounsel.us
t.akpinar@verizon.net
250-02 Northern Blvd - Suite 200
Little Neck, New York 11363
P.O. Box 620766
Little Neck, New York 11362
www.mycounsel.us
| Causes of Recreational Boating Accidents New Jersey Boating Accident Attorney - Boating Accident Legal Information - Boating Injury - Injured by Jet Ski - |
Careless or Reckless Operation
Operator Inattention
Operator Inexperience
Excessive Speed
Hazardous Waters
Alcohol Use
Passenger-Skier Behavior
Machinery System Failure
No Proper Lookout
Rules of the Road Infraction
Operator Inattention
Operator Inexperience
Excessive Speed
Hazardous Waters
Alcohol Use
Passenger-Skier Behavior
Machinery System Failure
No Proper Lookout
Rules of the Road Infraction
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