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To recover damages for your injuries, you must prove that the other operator was negligent in causing your accident.
Boating negligence often involves these and other actions:
- Distracted or inattentive operation
- Alcohol or drug use
- Excessive speed
- Failure to operate a boat based on weather and water conditions
- Hitting you while you are swimming or in the water
- Crossing another boat’s wake
- Failure to control a boat after hitting a wave or a submerged object
If you sustained injuries, your accident is reportable. The appropriate authorities investigate all reportable accidents. While the report will document the facts about what happened, a boating liability insurer has the final call as to paying you or not. Insurers conduct their own investigations and make their own decisions about liability.