Florida’s many beaches, rivers, lakes, bays, canals and its easy access to the Gulf Coast make this state a favorite vacation spot for tourists, residents, and college students wanting to enjoy themselves while swimming or riding on sailboats, yachts, fishing boats, houseboats, Jet Skis, and other personal watercrafts. Unfortunately, boating accidents do happen.

At Lazarus & Lazarus, P.A., our Ft. Lauderdale, Florida boating accident attorneys can evaluate your injuries and help you file for personal injury compensation. We are familiar with the state, federal, and maritime laws governing boating accidents. We represent clients injured in boating accidents throughout Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, and elsewhere in Florida.

Florida Boating Accident Statistics
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there were 671 boating accidents in Florida in 2006. 420 people were injured in these accidents and there were 69 fatalities. Property damages resulting from these boating accidents was valued at $8.6 million.

Common kinds of boating accidents include collisions with other boats, swimmers, or floating or nonmoving objects (such as a dock or a pier), falls from personal watercrafts (PWC) or falling overboard, and the boat capsizing, flooding, sinking, or catching fire. Common causes of boating accidents include drunk driving, boat operator inexperience, recklessness, negligence, speeding, driver inattention, defective boats, and malfunctioning personal watercrafts.

Injuries sustained by a boating accident victim can include drowning, spinal cord injures, traumatic brain injuries, serious burns, amputations, hypothermia, broken bones, internal injuries, and wrongful death. Boat owners, boat operators, cruise lines, boating manufacturers, and personal watercraft manufacturers are some of the parties that may be held liable in a boating accident injury case.

Personal Injury Compensation
At Lazarus & Lazarus, PA, our Ft. Lauderdale, Florida boating accident lawyers will work with the nation’s leading boating accident experts to help you when your injuries or the property damage to your boat was caused by a negligent party. As a boating accident victim, you may be entitled to receive personal injury compensation for medical bills, ongoing and future medical and recovery care, lost income, pain and suffering, and other related damages.

Boating accidents are unlike other personal injury cases in that–depending on which body of water the accident occurred in–they can either fall under the state of Florida’s jurisdiction or under US maritime law. This can affect the outcome of your case and who can be held liable for damages. This is why you must retain the services of a personal injury law firm that knows how to properly handle boating accident cases.

If you are a boat passenger, boating operator, a personal watercraft rider, or a swimmer who was injured in a boating accident caused by another party’s negligence, please call Lazarus & Lazarus, PA today at (954) 356-0006 and ask for your free consultation with Attorney Gary Lazarus or Attorney Arleen Lazarus. You can also contact us online. Our law offices are located in Ft. Lauderdale and Weston, Florida.