Back to Recreational Boating Accidents
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My wish to all recreational boaters out there is for safe and carefree days of
boating…enjoying your powerboats, sailboats, kayaks, canoes, waterskiing, jet skis,
wave runners, personal watercraft, windsurfers with great pleasure. I hope you get out
there enough to make winter storage, mooring fees and launch service worth all the
expense. I hope you experience the thrill of introducing a child or non-boater to taking
the helm underway. And I hope you never experience a boating accident.
And it shouldn’t be that difficult to AVOID a boating accident...by learning boating safety,
familiarizing yourself with your equipment, studying local charts, reviewing the rules of
the road, exercising good judgment, using common sense, being considerate and
courteous to other boaters…all these things should give you pretty decent odds.
Unfortunately, it’s not that difficult to HAVE a boating accident either…because even
when you do everything right, there might be someone out there who does not. You can
take a Power Squadron Boating Safety course. You can go to bed with the Chapman’s
seamanship book under your pillow. But you can’t force other people to. You can’t stop
some idiot from pointing a million candle power spotlight in your face as your vessels
close at 40 knots. You can’t convince some people that driving through a crowded bay at
high speed makes them a menace....not a rebel. You can’t make some people
appreciate what a three foot stern wave does to a small boat…especially when they're
steering from a flying bridge twelve feet above the water.
People like this make it necessary to know what to do in the event of a boating accident.
Below is a list of things you should keep in mind. However, nothing in real life works as
smoothly as a neat little list. The trauma of the moment may require doing several things
at once…which means that priorities may be have to be decided on the spot…under
emotional stress…using common sense, or maybe acting so fast you don’t have time to
think.
If you’re focusing on stopping bleeding from someone’s leg, it doesn’t mean you don’t
pay attention to something like water rising in the bilge. If someone else is qualified, you
can tell them to take the controls…or tell them to get a bucket or bilge pump. If a
passenger’s injuries are not life threatening, you can direct your immediate attention to
moving your vessel out of the way of an oncoming tug, etc. These are difficult calls a
person has to make at the time and place they arise.
▪ Provided you still have a boat under you, determine if anyone needs first aid or other
medical attention and render it to the best that circumstances permit.
▪ Call the Coast Guard and tell them you were involved in a boating accident. Immediately
tell them about the need for emergency medical care if necessary. Give them your
location and a physical description of the boats.
▪ Render assistance to the other vessel if you are able to do so.
▪ Once it appears that things are under control so far as urgent medical attention and
the safety of the occupants of the vessels, exchange information with the other
operator. Ask for, and provide:
▪ Operator name - including address and telephone numbers
▪ Names of the passengers - including addresses and telephone numbers
▪ Names of eyewitnesses who witnessed the event from shore or another vessel.
▪ Name of vessel
▪ Registration number or other identification number of vessel (i.e. documented vessel)
▪ Insurance company for the vessel
▪ Insurance policy number
▪ If everyone’s medical needs have been met, and no one is in immediate danger, take
photographs of both vessels….but only AFTER these more fundamental needs have
been met.
▪ After getting ashore, file a boating accident report with the Coast Guard if necessary. A
report must be filed if someone dies (God forbid), someone is injured and requires
medical treatment beyond first aid, damage to vessels and property meets or exceeds
$2,000 (or there is a complete loss of a vessel), or someone disappears from a vessel
under circumstances indicating death or injury. This is required by the code of federal
regulations, under 33 CFR 173.55.
▪ Depending on where you live, you may need to file a boating accident report with the
appropriate state agency also, such as a recreation and parks department, or other
such entity.
▪ Notify your insurance carrier of the accident as soon as practicable. Give them copies
of paperwork or reference numbers issued by the Coast Guard or law enforcement
vessels, including citations issued, if any. Fill out their questionnaires and return them in
a timely manner.
I hope you never have an accident…and I hope these recommendations are something
you never need to carry out. But there’s nothing wrong in thinking about what to do if the
need arises. It’s called being prepared.
Smooth sailing and SAFE BOATING!
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
boating…enjoying your powerboats, sailboats, kayaks, canoes, waterskiing, jet skis,
wave runners, personal watercraft, windsurfers with great pleasure. I hope you get out
there enough to make winter storage, mooring fees and launch service worth all the
expense. I hope you experience the thrill of introducing a child or non-boater to taking
the helm underway. And I hope you never experience a boating accident.
And it shouldn’t be that difficult to AVOID a boating accident...by learning boating safety,
familiarizing yourself with your equipment, studying local charts, reviewing the rules of
the road, exercising good judgment, using common sense, being considerate and
courteous to other boaters…all these things should give you pretty decent odds.
Unfortunately, it’s not that difficult to HAVE a boating accident either…because even
when you do everything right, there might be someone out there who does not. You can
take a Power Squadron Boating Safety course. You can go to bed with the Chapman’s
seamanship book under your pillow. But you can’t force other people to. You can’t stop
some idiot from pointing a million candle power spotlight in your face as your vessels
close at 40 knots. You can’t convince some people that driving through a crowded bay at
high speed makes them a menace....not a rebel. You can’t make some people
appreciate what a three foot stern wave does to a small boat…especially when they're
steering from a flying bridge twelve feet above the water.
People like this make it necessary to know what to do in the event of a boating accident.
Below is a list of things you should keep in mind. However, nothing in real life works as
smoothly as a neat little list. The trauma of the moment may require doing several things
at once…which means that priorities may be have to be decided on the spot…under
emotional stress…using common sense, or maybe acting so fast you don’t have time to
think.
If you’re focusing on stopping bleeding from someone’s leg, it doesn’t mean you don’t
pay attention to something like water rising in the bilge. If someone else is qualified, you
can tell them to take the controls…or tell them to get a bucket or bilge pump. If a
passenger’s injuries are not life threatening, you can direct your immediate attention to
moving your vessel out of the way of an oncoming tug, etc. These are difficult calls a
person has to make at the time and place they arise.
▪ Provided you still have a boat under you, determine if anyone needs first aid or other
medical attention and render it to the best that circumstances permit.
▪ Call the Coast Guard and tell them you were involved in a boating accident. Immediately
tell them about the need for emergency medical care if necessary. Give them your
location and a physical description of the boats.
▪ Render assistance to the other vessel if you are able to do so.
▪ Once it appears that things are under control so far as urgent medical attention and
the safety of the occupants of the vessels, exchange information with the other
operator. Ask for, and provide:
▪ Operator name - including address and telephone numbers
▪ Names of the passengers - including addresses and telephone numbers
▪ Names of eyewitnesses who witnessed the event from shore or another vessel.
▪ Name of vessel
▪ Registration number or other identification number of vessel (i.e. documented vessel)
▪ Insurance company for the vessel
▪ Insurance policy number
▪ If everyone’s medical needs have been met, and no one is in immediate danger, take
photographs of both vessels….but only AFTER these more fundamental needs have
been met.
▪ After getting ashore, file a boating accident report with the Coast Guard if necessary. A
report must be filed if someone dies (God forbid), someone is injured and requires
medical treatment beyond first aid, damage to vessels and property meets or exceeds
$2,000 (or there is a complete loss of a vessel), or someone disappears from a vessel
under circumstances indicating death or injury. This is required by the code of federal
regulations, under 33 CFR 173.55.
▪ Depending on where you live, you may need to file a boating accident report with the
appropriate state agency also, such as a recreation and parks department, or other
such entity.
▪ Notify your insurance carrier of the accident as soon as practicable. Give them copies
of paperwork or reference numbers issued by the Coast Guard or law enforcement
vessels, including citations issued, if any. Fill out their questionnaires and return them in
a timely manner.
I hope you never have an accident…and I hope these recommendations are something
you never need to carry out. But there’s nothing wrong in thinking about what to do if the
need arises. It’s called being prepared.
Smooth sailing and SAFE BOATING!
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
A maritime trial lawyer should move quickly to meet with witnesses before too much time elapses. The recollection of an incident fades with time, witnesses move out of state, become unavailable. Something that a witness could have automatically remembered as clear as what he or she had for breakfast that morning might be lost from clear and detailed memory 12 months later...requiring provisions of the rules of evidence allowing referral to documents or other reference materials inorder to refresh a witnesses memory. |
| Not every witness that a maritime trial attorney will examine on the stand will be a boat operator, passenger, eye-witness or boating safety expert. Sometimes the emergency room physician or orthopaedic surgeon or family doctor can be called in. Sometimes the parties may be able to come to grips with who was at fault...but come to an impasse as to whether the ensuing injuries could have been related to the accident. A doctor who treated the boating accident injury victim would be in a good position to testify as to whether or not the injuries could have been related to something else, such as a workplace accident...or a car accident from ten years ago. Were there previous surgeries? Was the boating accident victim ever disabled? These are some of the medical issues that may come to bear. The injured plaintiff's maritime attorney would need to show that the injuries were related to the boating accident by a reasonable preponderance of the evidence...unlike the evidentiary standard in a criminal trial, where the defense attorney needs to show that something could have or could not have happened beyond a reasonable doubt. |
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
250-02 Northern Blvd - Suite 200
Little Neck, New York 11363
P.O. Box 620766
Little Neck, New York 11362
www.mycounsel.us
| What To Do In A Boating Accident New York Boating Accident - What Should You Do - Boating Accident Help Desk - Things to do in a Boating Accident |
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