Whether you are spending an afternoon in the bay, taking a small vessel through narrow inland waterways, or heading south and setting out to sea, Pensacola is a great place to put a boat into the water. However, just like drivers on public streets must obey traffic laws and act responsibly while driving, boaters in the state’s navigable waterways are expected to always follow local regulations and pay attention to their surroundings—a duty of care which, unfortunately, not every helmsperson lives up to.
If another person’s reckless or careless actions caused you to be hurt in a preventable boating accident, you have help available from a seasoned Pensacola boat accident lawyer with securing the financial restitution you deserve. Once retained, our personal injury attorneys could work tirelessly on your behalf and treat you with care as we fight for the best possible resolution for your legal proceedings.
What To Do After Getting Hurt Aboard a Boat
In addition to the duty of care mentioned above, another similarity between boat collisions and auto accidents is the requirement that state law places on people involved in these incidents to report what happened to local law enforcement or state government officials. As per Florida Statutes § 327.301, if a waterborne accident results in an injury needing more than basic first aid, a disappearance, or a death, you must report it to local police or to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 48 hours. Incidents only resulting in property damage valued at more than $2,000 must be reported within 10 days, and other types of incidents have no reporting requirements.
You should also make it a priority to get professional medical attention as soon as possible after being involved in a boating accident of any kind. Even if you feel fine afterwards, you may have suffered an injury that will not produce obvious symptoms until it is too late to prevent serious long-term consequences. The documentation produced by your treating physicians could be crucial evidence for our Pensacola boating injury attorneys to use if you file suit over your injuries.
Start Your Free Case Evaluation
Recovering for Short-Term and Long-Term Losses
If you can prove someone else was directly at fault for your boat-related injuries based on their own legal negligence, you could make them pay financially for every economic and non-economic form of harm you will experience because of those injuries. Economic damages could include not only medical expenses for injury-related care but also costs associated with personal property damage and disability management, as well as loss of work income and earning capacity caused by a temporary or permanent disability.
Non-economic damages typically center around physical pain and suffering, but they could also include things like psychological trauma, emotional anguish, and a decline in overall enjoyment of life. Our boat injury lawyers in Pensacola could provide irreplaceable help with both identifying the specific losses you should incorporate into your unique claim and demanding a fair amount of money to account for the long-term effects of those losses.
Start Your Free Case Evaluation
Talk to a Pensacola Boat Accident Attorney About Legal Options
In many ways, collisions and other accidents on the water can be even more dangerous than auto accidents on land. In addition to the fact that boats do not have safety features like airbags or seatbelts, the risk of drowning also increases the likelihood of even a low-speed crash having fatal repercussions.
You deserve fair restitution for any harm you have suffered through an incident of this nature that was someone else’s fault, and a Pensacola boat accident lawyer from our team could help you pursue that recovery as effectively as possible. Call today to set up an initial consultation.
Start Your Free Case Evaluation
