Articles Posted in Boating Accidents

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Kiteboarders Scaring Miami Beachgoers – Looking towards the City Council for Winds of Change

Miami and North Miami Beach Personal Injury Law Firm Serving Clients injured in Water Sports Accident Claims in Miami.

Miami Beach: As if rip currents, stingrays and jellyfish weren’t enough for swimmers and beachgoers in Miami to worry about, kiteboarders are adding addition concern to sunbathers and folks out for a coastline stroll. Today, swimmers, sunbathers, and pedestrians face an array of dangers that make being in or out of the water a target for personal injury. Speed boats, jet skis, surfers, and now kiteboarders, are placing bathers at risk of being hurt and even killed due to negligent water sports enthusiasts. Kiteboarding has become the most recent water sport to take hold of Miami Beach, with local residents and swimmers raising a ruckus because of the harmful threat that negligent kiteboarders are causing to beachgoers. Despite a failed attempt to put a ban on the sport in certain areas of Miami, the city council will debate this Wednesday a new set of rules to regulate kiteboarding and safeguard the well-being of beachgoers and swimmers in Miami. City commissioners will determine whether or not to prohibit kiteboarders from taking to the waves along certain parts of the Miami coastline. The new regulations will compel kiteboarders to apply for a permit that bears a Level 3 certification, which is granted by the IKQ (International Kiteboarding Organization). In order to qualify for level 3 status, kiteboarders would have to take eight hours of kiteboarding lessons under experienced kiteboarders and experts.

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Biscayne Bay: What happens when you put a drunk, coke snorting, wanna-be captain at the helm of a 91-foot yacht? Tragedy strikes.

Miami and North Miami Beach Personal Injury Law Firm Serving Boating Accident Claims in Miami.

On April 1st, a 25-year old passenger was killed while swimming behind a privately owned yacht.  The victim was struck by the yacht’s propeller after a non-licensed captain made a crucial navigational mistake. This past Monday, the supposed captain pleaded guilty to wrongful death due to negligence while commandeering a water vessel. Regardless of the fact that the person at the helm is primarily responsible for the wrongful death incident, the person that chartered the yacht is partially to blame since the accident would have never happened if the service had not been advertised as a ‘unique charter experience’.  Both parties face wrongful death and negligence charges as the yacht owner was aware that the vessel was not insured for charters and the operator was not licensed to charter passengers. Furthermore, cell phone video footage shows the alleged captain snorting cocaine and drinking while cruising round Miami before taking the helm of the 91-foot yacht, which was dirty and revealed an evident lack of maintenance. The captain anchored the yacht at Monument Island as two of the four passengers decided to go for a swim and eventually drifted towards the rear of the yacht. Without warning or regard for navigational safety measures when leaving an island, the captain put the yacht in reverse as the propellers pulled the victim in, causing fatal injuries which brought the pleasure voyage to a tragic end.

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Boating Mishap leads to Search and Rescue Operation off Miami Beach Coast.

By: Perazzo Law – Serving Boating Accident Victims in Miami

Friday Night: A search and rescue operation got underway when a man was able to swim to shore after the boat he was on began to sink. The Coast Guard, the Miami Fire Department, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Miami-Dade Police responded to the distress call quickly after it came in a little after 10 p.m. Apparently, the boat the men were sailing in sprung a leak, and three men had to abandon ship. One of the men was able to make it back to shore while the other two were set adrift along the ocean current. Fortunately, the Coast Guard was able to locate and rescue one of the two men in Biscayne Bay, while the other man was rescued by the Miami Fire Rescue Unit after spending an hour in the water. The latter experienced cardiac arrest but is reported to be in good condition despite his life-threatening ordeal at sea. Both men suffered no serious injuries and were taken to hospital for examination. The cause of the accident remains to be determined. According to official statistic reports, there were 2,629 boating accident related injuries in the USA in 2017, with 658 reported fatalities. Miami boating mishaps may usually involve inexperienced boat operators at the helm while under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. First and foremost, boaters or anyone on a boat, must know that lifejackets save lives. Sadly, 80% of boat related fatalities are the result of drowning; lifejackets prevent people from drowning. Sailing at night requires special added care. Inexperienced boaters have the misconception that spotlights work just like headlights at night. However, headlights are practically useless at sea cause boats may approach another vessel from any direction as boating is a three dimensional navigational activity. Furthermore, headlights create shadows that can disorient those at the helm, and boats can’t just hit the brakes either. It takes a lot more time to stop a boat or quickly swerve to dodge a boat that appears out of the blue over a breaking wave.   

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