Boating Accidents in Michigan, California and Arizona Call Attention to Safety Concerns
As more people take to the water this summer, recreational boating accidents around the county during the weekend of July 13 resulted in numerous serious injuries and a pair of deaths.
KVUE-TV reported that two men needed to be transported to the hospital via helicopter “during a dangerous day on Lake Pleasant” in Arizona on July 13. Shortly before a man was flown to the hospital after he was found floating face down in the water, another man lost at least four fingers as he tried to untangle a tow rope that was wrapped around his daughter’s arm after she fell off the back of their boat. “His effort to remove that rope saved her arm [from an amputation injury] and caused him serious injury to his hand,” Peoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Moore told KVUE.
The Detroit Free Press reported that an 11-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl were killed the following day, and their 10-year-old sister remained in critical condition after a boating accident on Sylvan Lake in Michigan’s Oakland County. A 56-year-old father was operating a watercraft and pulling his three children on a tube when another boater suddenly struck the children. The father was traveling in the right direction (counter clockwise), 42-year-old John Harmala told the Free Press. However, Harmala said, “he has seen an increase in careless behavior on the water, such as boaters driving too fast, since the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office stopped patrolling the lake a few years ago.”
KCBS-TV reported that four people sustained injuries in another boating accident on June 14. Newport Beach Fire Department Captain Glenn White told KCBS that a 25-foot cigarette-type boat was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck a smaller, slower boat. He said one adult male and three adult females were transported to hospitals in Newport Beach and Mission Viejo with injuries ranging from lacerations to breathing difficulties and a possible fracture.
With recreational boating accidents as the ones described above, it is very important that the proper investigation is performed in order to preserve all the evidence. When an accident occurs on the water, many entities will be involved in investigating the accident. As a result of the investigations, in many cases, criminal charges may be filed if an injury or death occurred. It is important that if any party has any questions or concerns regarding an investigation of a recreational boating accident, that they contact an attorney to help them.
In addition to helping injured seamen obtain compensation under the Jones Act, Latti Associates LLC also represents individuals who sustained injuries and families who lost loved ones in recreational boating accidents. We serve clients nationwide, and you can use the form on this page to have our Boston maritime trial lawyers review your case or you can contact our firm at (800) 392-6072 to schedule a free consultation.
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