Accidents can happen everywhere, including out on the water. If you are hurt while in a boat in Maine, there are some things you should know about your legal rights.
Consider working with a Maine boating accident lawyer to fully explore your legal options. An experienced boating accident lawyer would be familiar with cases like yours and could offer qualified insight and guidance throughout your case.
If you are injured while out on a motorboat or a sailboat, you must be able to prove that your injury resulted from someone else’s negligence in order to recover damages from that person.
The mere fact that you were hurt does not mean that anyone was negligent. Negligence means that someone failed to act with reasonable care. A boating accident lawyer can help you prove negligence if it lead to your boating accident.
For example, the majority of boating accidents in Maine can be attributed to a boating operator’s inattentiveness, inexperience, or being distracted. Alcohol and speeding are often found to be contributing factors in water vessel collisions.
These are all examples of how an operator of a boat could be negligent. Due to the boat driver’s carelessness, the following incidents may happen:
Your boat hits another boat
Your boat hits another boat’s wake, and the operator is unable to maintain control
Your boat hits another object, such as a submerged rock.
It is sometimes difficult to determine who is at fault in cases involving multiple boaters. Each of the operators may be partially at fault.
If you are an injured passenger on one of the boats, you may have a legal case against the operators of both boats. In this sense, it is similar to being a passenger in a car accident case.
If you are the operator of one of the boats, you would only have a claim against the other operator if you were less than 50 percent responsible for the collision.
If you are found to be equally at fault as the other operator, you will not be able to recover under Maine’s comparative negligence law. Whether you are an operator or a passenger that is injured in a boating accident, you should consult a boating injury lawyer right away to determine your legal rights.
When a boat hits a big wake, a wave, or another object, it can often cause the passengers on the boat to become injured. Liability in these instances is not always clear-cut and will generally depend on the circumstances.
But if the collision is found to be the result of an inexperienced, inattentive, or inebriated operator, that person will likely be found responsible for the injuries they cause.
There are basic Maine boating laws to be aware of. Boats do not have clear “right of way” rules as cars or pedestrians do, however, Maine has implemented rules that every boat operator should follow when encountering other watercraft. Both operators must do everything they reasonably can to avoid a collision.
This includes keeping a lookout for other boats, objects, and significant waves. It is also important for the operator of a boat to maintain a safe speed and distance from other boats, objects, or potentially harmful situations.
When navigating a motorboat in Maine, it is required to yield to:
Any watercraft anchored or disabled
Any watercraft restricted in its ability to maneuver
Any watercraft engaged in commercial fishing
A sailboat under sail unless it is overtaking
Read complete information regarding Maine’s boating laws.
While Maine does not require individuals to carry Maine boat insurance, it is highly recommended that you have insurance on any watercraft, and hopefully the operator of your boat has chosen to do so.
The three primary types of coverage typically found in a standard boat insurance policy are:
Bodily injury liability for expenses related to the injury of another person
Property damage liability for expenses related to harming another person’s property
Physical damage for damage to your own property, including your boat and trailer.
If you are injured as a result of a boating collision, you should find out if the operator of your boat has bodily injury liability coverage.
To help you determine the compensation that you are entitled to, you should contact a boating injury lawyer in Maine right away. Mann Law has years of experience handling all types of boating accident cases involving very serious injuries.
Just like in a car accident, if a boater was negligent, and you were injured as a result, you are entitled to recover damages. Your damages may include the reasonable value of your:
Medical bills
Pain and suffering
Loss of enjoyment of life
Lost wages/earning capacity
Damages to relationships
Loved one’s wrongful death
Our goal at Mann Law is to help you get what you deserve. It can be difficult to quantify the cost of a concussion or broken bone beyond the medical bills, but we navigate that process every day for our clients.
Our local attorneys can determine what your boat crash case is worth and can help you receive that compensation. Navigating the system, the insurance adjusters, and lawyers is our service to you.
The medical bills are only a fraction of the compensation that is needed from the insurance company to make you whole again.
Christiana Mann and the entire Mann Law team work tirelessly to reduce your stress and get you just compensation. We work regularly with insurance companies and adjusters so you don’t have to.
With years of experience, our Maine boat accident lawyers have valuable insight into the personal injury process and know how to navigate the confusing path.
We also work with your healthcare providers to ensure bills are taken care of and help them understand the legal process as we work toward a settlement or lawsuit.
You need an aggressive advocate, and Mann Law performs that aggressive work with insurance companies who may claim you were somehow at fault for your boating accident.
We consult with experts and perform thorough and exhaustive investigations into your boat collision claim so we can best determine the full impact of the accident while working with everyone involved.
The experience and relationships cultivated by Mann Law will be invaluable to you. You work on your health while we take care of the rest.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
