When the weather starts to break, the boats return to the marina. Unfortunately, you may experience an accident while boating that leaves you injured. You may be feeling angry after such an accident and you may be wondering what can be done. In the meantime, here are answers to commonly asked boat accident injury questions for you.
Boat Accident Injury Questions: What Should I Do if I was Injured on a Boat?
We recommend they do a couple of things immediately if they haven’t done so already. One, is to seek medical treatment immediately for anything that is bothering you, photo document any bruises or damages or injuries, and try and put together a short journal entry or write down witness names or information that might help your attorney do the investigation because every case involves two parts. Number one, what was the fault or the negligence? Number two, what are the injuries? If you do have this circumstance happen to you, you should call an attorney who is qualified immediately to do both the investigation and the injury assessment for you.
Download Our Free Boat Accident Guide
Boat Accident Injury Questions: How Much Time Do I Have to Bring a Water Craft Accident Claim Forward?
New York State does not differentiate among claims depending upon what the injured party may have been riding or driving when it comes to the statute of limitations. General negligence is still subject to a three-year statute of limitations. However, even though you have that much time to sue, the most important elements of a case are often established through early investigation – including interviews and the sharing of facts about the incident with your attorney. It’s also important to get the proper medical care promptly. If you are injured in a boat accident due to somebody else’s carelessness or negligence, certainly the owner of that boat or the operator of that boat is legally responsible for your injuries.
Boat Accident Injury Questions: What Type of Injuries Usually Occur in a Boat Accident?
The most common types of injuries we see in watercraft accidents are contusions, bumps, and bruises, but also broken bones, head injuries, and traumatic brain injuries because when the impact or collisions occurs, people typically get thrown about the boat quite seriously. There are not the same protections in a watercraft that there are in vehicles, so there are a lot of impact accidents as opposed to a car accident where there is a lot of whipping, and cervical acceleration/deceleration because you are held tightly in the seat by the seat belt. I advise clients that watercraft accidents can be a much more severe type of impact accident.
If you have any further boat accident injury questions, please contact our Buffalo personal injury attorneys to schedule a free initial consultation to go over your case!