Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

A Miami-Dade man was killed when he fell from the rear diving platform of a luxury yacht and was sucked into the path of the vessel's propellers.

At this time, it has not been determined by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials whether alcohol was involved or if rough seas played a factor.

This unfortunate accident comes on the eve of the Columbus Day holiday weekend when an annual flotilla of boats of all sizes and types anchor off Elliott Key to celebrate. The partying, together with alcohol and other substances, has resulted in injuries and even deaths over the years.

Various law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, FWC, Miami-Dade police and fire-rescue units and Biscayne Park National Park rangers will be patrolling the bay and local marinas this weekend on the look out "BUI" -- Boating Under the Influence.

Any boats stopped will be inspected for the required safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers and life preservers, and the operators will be checked for BUI. Penalties include jail and the confiscation of the boat.

South Florida is the boating capital of the world and a lot of boat operators who would never drive under the influence of alcohol don't think twice about operating their boat drunk. These people tend to believe that driving their boat under influence is safer than driving their cars when impaired. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, but the sad reality is that each hundreds of people are injured or even killed through boater negligence.

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Two 16-year old boys operating a boat were arrested and booked into the juvenile assessment center in connection with a boating accident that resulted in a teenage girl losing a part of her leg earlier this year. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report, the boat motored into a restricted swimming area within 500 feet of the Juno Beach fishing pier. The boys disregarded horns and signals from lifeguards.

The juveniles, whose names were not released, were both charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injury, reckless operation of a vessel and culpable negligence in the February 5th crash that injured a 15-year-old girl.

The girl and her two friends were in the water south of the Juno Pier when the boat approached. As she was trying to climb on board, the driver throttled the motor, in an apparent attempt to keep the boat from getting beached, according to an eyewitness.

The boat struck the girls, knocking them over, and the girl's leg was struck by the propeller. Doctors were later forced to amputate part of her right leg.

After the injury, the boat left the scene and the boys made no attempt to notify any law enforcement agency, the report stated.

Teenage boys and power boats make a dangerous combination. They often lack the maturity to handle the horsepower at their fingertips and are oblivious to the potential for danger. Parents frequently hand over the keys to the family boat with out making sure that their children have the training necessary to safely operate these vessels. As a result, boating accidents involving minors are an all too unfortunate occurrence in South Florida.

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National Safe Boating Week is set for May each year. Its purpose is to recognize the importance of boat safety, particularly in South Florida, where there are more registered boats than in any other area of the country. After Monroe County (the Keys), Miami-Dade ranks second for boating accidents and Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) is not far behind.

While the overall number boating accidents including personal watercraft, is down, accidents still frequently occur when boats collide with fix objects like docks, channel markers, etc. A lot of these accidents can be attributed to driver negligence, inattention, inexperience or even intoxication.

The vast majority of boaters involved in an accident have not even taken a boating safety class. Florida law requires all boaters under 21 years of age to pass a class before they can operate a boat.

With regard to personal watercraft, such as a jet ski, a person must be at least 14 years of age to operate a personal watercraft in Florida and a person must be at least 18 years of age to rent a personal watercraft in Florida.

National Safe Boating Week serves as a reminder to us all to be careful while we are operating our boats. It should also serve as a clarion call to the Florida legislature to make our waterways safer. The legislature needs to carefully consider initiatives to raise the age limits for jet skis from 14 to 16 and to require a safe boating class for personal water craft.

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