When asked to pursue a personal injury claim, a lawyer has to be discerning when presenting the facts. As the representative of the plaintiff in a court setting, often with a large insurance company as the defendant, the plaintiff’s lawyer needs to parse facts in stating a case. In any fact pattern, it is most often the nuances that determine whether a case is a good case. Missing those nuances can cause the plaintiff to lose some or the entire reward.
Understanding these nuances is particularly important with plaintiff personal injury or maritime cases. It is imperative to understand the nuances of a maritime accident when stating a case before a jury. Unlike car or truck accidents, the rules of boat collisions are different. Therefore, if you have been injured in a maritime accident, you should seek representation from an attorney familiar with the nuances of maritime law.
Waterway Collisions
The nature of a boat collision can contrast sharply with that of an automobile collision. A boat has no brakes and is often at the mercy of the water’s direction. Boats often do not have seat belts. As a result, investigating a waterway collision is different.
When investigating an automobile collision, investigators often look to circumstantial evidence available at the scene of the accident. Investigators will check skid marks to see if a car veered out of its lane abruptly. They will interview bystanders about how the automobiles were driving, i.e. were the vehicles staying in their lanes? Straddling the lane may be a sign of drunk driving or inept driving. What is the general traffic pattern at that time of day? Is the road usually busy? Do other accidents frequently occur on this road? What were the weather conditions?
This can contrast heavily with waterway accidents. There are no skid marks in the water; there are no lanes for the boats; traffic patterns may be useful, but there are often no records. Moreover, people use their cars at all times, even in bad rain storms, whereas boats are usually at the dock in bad rain storms. Individuals use their cars at all times to accomplish various tasks throughout the day. They go to work, shopping, pick up their kids etc. all with their cars. This occurs in all types of weather. Boating, however, is considered a luxury and individuals only head out to their boats for recreation. Bad-weather boating is just less common.
Boating Accident Investigation
When investigating a boating accident, a major investigative tool is determining fault in the accident based on the details of the collision. That is to say, where did the collision occur. Does that suggest negligence on anybody’s part? Did the boaters know of the other’s whereabouts?
Weather conditions are also a factor. Was the boater able to see at the time of the accident? Did other conditions interfere with what the boater was doing?
If you are involved in a boating accident, you need a lawyer who understands the nuances of boating accidents and maritime law. Contact the Kolodny law firm, experienced maritime accident lawyers.
Alan Kolodny is committed to representing injured clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Alan earned his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving the following matters: maritime and offshore accidents, including those under the Jones Act; automobile and 18-wheeler truck accidents; and industrial site accidents, work-related accidents, and claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
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