Atlanta Boat Accident Attorney
Boating accidents can result in severe consequences, including loss of life, that may deeply impact you and your loved ones. If you are involved in a boating accident for which you are not culpable, you may be entitled to a monetary award to cover your medical bills, rehabilitation, lost income, and even your pain and suffering. The Atlanta boat accident attorneys at Stokes & Kopitsky, P.A. have bene helping boat accident victims in Georgia for more than three decades. Contact them today for help in navigating your possible claim due to a boating accident.
What Are The Common Causes of Boating Accidents?
Fatal boating accidents can be caused by any number of factors. Among the most common are operator errors, including being distracted or reckless while operating the boat, failure to keep a solid lookout, or not having the experience necessary to operate the vehicle.
Other factors include the use of alcohol or other substances, traveling at speeds too fast to control, operating the boat in hazardous waters, encountering the wake of another vessel, environmental conditions like large waves and storms, equipment failure and not obeying the rules of the waterways.
Boating Accidents by the Numbers
In a year, there were over 4,600 accidents involving boats and other recreational water vehicles. These resulted in 672 fatalities, 3,153 serious injuries and $35.5 million in property damage. Among the fatalities, 75% were from drowning and the majority of these were not wearing proper life jackets or safety equipment. 80% of drowning victims were using open motorboats or other small vessels.
The top five boating accidents involve:
- Collisions with another vessel
- Collisions with stable objects
- Boat flooding or swamping
- Mishaps with skiers
- Boat Capsizing
Intoxicated Boating
Although many people are aware of the dangers of drunk driving, few people consider that drinking while operating a boat is illegal. Drinking while boating causes accidents on waterways. Georgia law states in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) §52-7-12 expressly forbids the operation, driving, steering or being in any sort of physical control of any vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating substances, whether it be alcohol or other drugs.
In addition, the Georgia Boat Safety Act expressly extends this prohibition to boating operators, establishing penalties for Boating Under the Influence, or BUI, and can hold the boat owner responsible if someone else who is intoxicated operates their vehicle. These laws place intoxicated boating under reckless and negligent boating.
Boating Under the Influence is dangerous because being intoxicated results in slowed reflexes, impaired perception and judgment and other dangerous conditions. In Georgia, it is illegal for anyone under 21 years of age to have a blood alcohol content of 0.02% or greater while operating a boat. For adults over the age of 21 must not have a BAC of 0.08% or higher.
Georgia Boating Accident Attorneys
If you have been in a boating accident and need representation to get the compensation you deserve, the Georgia boating accident attorneys at Stokes & Kopitsky, P.A. are here to help. For a free consult about the details of your case, give us a call at 404-892-0011 or contact us online today.