Monroe County, FL Boat Accident Lawyer
Boat accidents are more often traumatic than not, leaving victims with serious and expensive injuries. To get compensation for those injuries, victims can turn to our lawyers for help bringing claims against liable parties.
Right after an accident, report it to the authorities. Victims should report all types of boating accidents that lead to injury, including capsizing incidents, collisions, falls overboard, and slip and falls on deck. Make sure to document your injuries by photographing them at the scene, if possible, and going directly to the hospital. You need medical records to present as proof of injury in your claim, and delaying treatment for any reason could threaten your financial recovery. Preserving eyewitnesses’ statements is essential, as they may be vital evidence in your boat accident lawsuit. We can quickly identify witnesses after the accident and reach out to interview them. As your case progresses, we can keep gathering evidence supporting your case, such as proof of your economic damages.
Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 to schedule a free case assessment from our boat accident lawyers.
Urgent Steps to Take After a Boat Accident in Monroe County, FL
The steps you take immediately after a boat accident can ultimately protect your financial recovery from a negligent party. Start with reporting the accident to law enforcement and documenting your injuries. Do not delay getting medical attention, as this could cause issues with your claim. We can focus on preserving evidence after the accident, like eyewitness statements, and continuing to collect relevant evidence as your case proceeds.
Reporting the Accident
Start by following accident reporting requirements. According to Fla. Stat. § 327.30(2), victims must report accidents that cause injury, death, or at least $2,000 in property damage to the Division of Law Enforcement of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or local sheriff’s department or police department.
If you have access to your cellphone, you can use that to call for help. Otherwise, you can ask others onboard to use their phones or the onboard radio to contact emergency personnel. Boat accidents vary; some victims might be injured during falls overboard or slip and falls on slick decks. The type of accident could dictate how victims call for help or if they can contact emergency personnel. For example, victims might be unable to call 911 if they fall overboard. Others involved in the accident have the same legal reporting obligations as you do and should call for help if you cannot do so because of your injuries.
In the following days, our boat accident lawyers can obtain incident reports from law enforcement and see how their contents align with your recollections of the accident. If the report contains inaccuracies, we can notify law enforcement. Otherwise, we may refer to the police report while building your case.
Documenting Your Injuries
Depending on the accident in question, taking photos of photos at the scene might be challenging. For example, if victims fall overboard during a collision with another vessel, they might not have access to their phone during transport to the hospital. In these situations, victims can ask first responders to photograph their injuries as they appear immediately after the accident. Victims should go to the nearest hospital straight away to ensure further injury documentation.
Monroe County is home to many popular beachside tourist destinations along the Gulf of Mexico, notably Key West. This means that victims injured on recreational or commercial boating outings might not be Florida residents themselves. If this is true in your case, do not leave the hospital early to go home, even if you are eager to get back and end your vacation. Leaving the hospital against doctors’ advice could adversely affect your compensation claim.
You will need medical evidence to support your claim before filing it. In terms of filing deadlines, victims typically have two years to file lawsuits for boating accidents in and around Monroe County, and missing that deadline would bar them from recovering compensatory damages.
Preserving Evidence
Preserving evidence from boat accidents is challenging, as it might get lost or washed away. Some of the most reliable evidence in these claims comes from eyewitnesses, who may give statements our lawyers can use to prove liability.
If you were injured on a recreational boat with other passengers, we can contact them after the accident to obtain their statements. There might be more eyewitnesses than victims are aware of for accidents on commercial vessels, and our lawyers can learn their identities from accident reports as law enforcement often interviews eyewitnesses when possible.
Witness statements can corroborate the facts in your claim regarding the defendant’s negligence and the accident’s sequence of events. For example, if the accident happened because the boat operator was under the influence, and other passengers can testify to that fact, their statements would greatly benefit your claim.
Vessels often have some security features onboard, like video cameras. This is often true of commercial boats, but even those used for personal recreational purposes might have surveillance systems to deter theft or trespassing. Our attorneys can confirm if surveillance footage exists and quickly preserve it so it is not deleted, intentionally or unintentionally.
As your case progresses, we can continue preserving and collecting evidence, like proof of your damages. This is necessary to show you incurred losses due to the defendant’s negligence. Proof of damages in your claim may include bills from medical treatments and calculations of lost wages supported by recent paychecks and tax returns. To document your pain and suffering after the accident, consider confiding in a therapist. Mental health professionals can testify about a victim’s emotional distress from a traumatic accident, strengthening our request for non-economic damages.
Call Our Monroe County, FL Lawyers About Your Case Today
Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. for a free case review from our boat accident lawyers at (305) 204-5369.
