Yacht Accident: Legal Consequences

Sometimes, when out yachting, you can find a spot of trouble which may lead to some serious injuries. When these kinds of injuries occur, it becomes important to become familiar with your next steps, legally speaking. Yacht accidents can be serious and the effects could affect you for the rest of your life, legally and medically. Here are some of the legal consequences you should know when dealing with a yachting incident.

Negligence

The most common cause of yachting accidents is often the result of negligent behavior or a lack of reasonable care. In either case, a negligence claim can be filed where damages are recovered when the injured party proves negligent behavior. This kind of claim is most often found during accidents where a yacht:

• Hits another yacht, boat, or a boat’s wake.
• Hits a wave or an object lying underwater (rocks, land, ETC)

Hitting Another Yacht, Boat, or a Boat’s Wake.

When another boat is hit, both operators are frown both assumed to be at fault with the injured passengers able to form a legal case. This is similar to a car accident, where if one of the vehicle operators is injured instead of both, then they have a claim against the other. This, of course, depends on how responsible the injured party was for the accident. Any more than fifty percent responsibility makes a claim mute. A yacht owner will also be considered the one at fault initially if the other boat was a sailboat. The boating rules surrounding the right of way states that a motorboat is to keep out of the way of sailboats.

Legal liability is murkier when it comes to wakes since the impact can lead to injuries but plenty of factors affect responsibility. Thing’s like visibility, traffic, wake size, and how fast the boat was going all contribute to liability. If your boat is hit by the wake, then the injuries that occur may be initially blamed on negligence on your part. Boating laws, federal and state, clearly explain that it’s up to the boat’s driver to do their best to make sure that their passengers are kept safe. Unless the other boat was creating wakes in a no-wake zone, then responsibility for any injuries on your yacht falls to you.

Hitting a Wave or Underwater Object

The consequences for a yacht hitting a wave or submerged object is similar to the consequences of hitting a wake. The blame will usually fall to the operator of the yacht with liability depending on any evidence of negligence. Of course, other factors are considered like the weather or visibility of the object hit. If you are driving recklessly, then any claims of negligence will be more easily proven as opposed to a yacht being hit despite following proper protocol.

Crewmember Rights and Maritime Law

All crew member son a yacht have legal rights and are entitled to compensation if maritime law is not followed. A yacht will need to be up to the proper standards in order to avoid any accusations of injury due to negligence. Proper standards include:

• Hygienic conditions
• Properly maintained equipment
• Rules and regulations followed and in place
• Warning signs and railings maintained.

Getting Legal Help

If you are a part of a yacht accident, it’s important to get the proper legal counsel to properly defend yourself. Legal counsel, which you can find more at lipcon.com, will be able to help you understand the full extent of your case.