Boating Accidents Lawyer | Ski Boat Accident Lawyer | Fishing Boat Accident Attorney | Lake Boat Accidents

Every year thousands of citizens of Providence plan a trip to go boating or swimming with their friends on either Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, Watchaug Pond or one of the many lakes in the Providence area. Most of the time their trip creates life long memories. Unfortunately, not every trip to the lakes around Providence ends happily. If you, or a loved one, has been injured in a boating accident contact a boating accident attorney immediately because you only have two years from the date of injury to file your claim. A boating personal injury lawyer will look out for your interests and provide you with advice on the best course of action.

What are the common causes of boating accidents?

1. No Brakes

Unlike cars, boats and jet skis do not have brakes. Once they are in motion they can only maneuver to avoid an accident. Though some boats have an option to reverse causing a lesser speed at impact, the accident still occurs. Often though, by the time the people involved in the accident realize what is about to happen it is too late to prevent it. 

2. Alcohol and/or Drugs

One of the largest factors in boating accidents is alcohol. Roughly one-third of all Providence boating accidents involve a boater that is boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is well documented that a person's reaction time is hindered when under the influence of alcohol. Rhode Island's Alcohol Boating Safety Act makes it unlawful for boaters to operate a vessel with .08% or greater blood alcohol content. In fact, penalties can include fines, loss of boat operating privileges, and even jail time for repeat offenders! (46-22.2-3. Violations by intoxicated watercraft operators). If you are under 21, a judge could even take away your DRIVER'S LICENSE! (46-22.2-3.1. Additional penalties for underage offenders).  

3. Alcohol & Sun Exposure  

In addition to drinking, many boaters fail to take into account that they will be out in the sun all day.  As a result, they are more likely to become drunk from less alcohol due to the dehydration from the sun. The best way to ensure a safe boating experience is to have the person driving the boat not drink alcohol. Boating and drinking do not mix!

4. Weather

Another common cause of boating accidents is the weather. While Providence generally has ideal weather, when you are out on the water a small storm can easily lead to tragedy. The combination of high winds, rain water, and swells of the waves or wake from other vessels can easily lead to boats colliding or turning over. It takes an experienced boater to be able to weather a storm in a boat. In addition to storms, the sun reflecting off of the water leads to increased chances of boaters to suffer from heat stroke and heat exhaustion. When suffering from heat stroke or exhaustion a common symptom is to faint and if the boater is boating alone then while he is unconscious there is an unmanned vessel on the water. Obviously, this can lead to serious injury.

5. Inexperienced Boaters

Finally, the most common cause of boat accidents are inexperienced boaters being put into dangerous and unfamiliar situations. Similar to the road, the waterways have rules that govern how boats are supposed to interact when passing one another. When one person fails to know these rules it can easily lead to boating accidents. To learn these rules, every boater should take a boater safety course. In fact, Rhode Island boating law requires many people to take a boating safety course:

46-22-9.8. Certificate of boating safety education

(a) No person born on or after January 1, 1986 shall operate a vessel that is fitted with propulsion machinery of more than ten (10) horsepower on the waters of this state unless the person shall have successfully completed a boating safety education program as approved by the director of the department of environmental management.

These courses are offered both online and in a classroom. For the Rhode Island online boater safety course, go to  Online Boater Education.

There is no excuse for a person that plans to man a watercraft not to take a boater safety course. Some of the courses only charge if you successfully complete the course. On top of that, the course will likely pay for itself because, after certification, you can talk to your boat insurance company about lowering your boat insurance premiums.

Typically the person who caused your injury is who your Providence Boat Accident lawyer will sue to make you whole. Under Rhode Island law, a person is responsible for your injury if they acted negligently. It is important to contact a Providence boat accident attorney because, depending on the facts of your boating injury, you may be able to sue other parties in addition to the person who was driving the boat.

If you have suffered an injury due to another person's negligent boating, your Providence boat accident lawyer  can recover for the following damages from the negligent boat owner or operator: Property Damage, Loss of Wages and/or Loss of Earning Capacity, Medical Expenses, Pain and Suffering, Mental Anguish, Physical Disfigurement, and Physical Impairment.

Call a Providence Lake Boat Injury Lawyer or Providence Fishing Injury Attorney Today

Many boating accidents occur at night when people are coming in after fishing all day. Unfortunately, many times they do not want to end their fun, and they stay out on the water well past dark, creating a more dangerous boating situation. Too many times, small fishing boats are not equipped with running lights or radar, causing collisions between boats. Injuries sustained in these collisions can be very dangerous and can sometimes also result in a drowning. This is especially true because people dislike wearing life preservers, or personal flotation devices (PFDs), and if you are knocked unconscious, this can easily cause you to drown. If you have suffered an injury as a result of another boater's failure to properly follow the rules and regulations required by Rhode Island law, contact a Providence boat accident law firm.

Duck Boat Injury Lawyer

If you are a duck hunting enthusiast, then there is nothing better than getting in your duck boat and taking it out for a hunting trip. As a duck hunter, you know that the sport presents numerous risks for injury, ranging from gun misfires to accidental shootings. In addition to the regular dangers of hunting, duck hunting adds to the equation a large list of boating dangers, such as running the boat aground and boat collisions. If you have to utilize a boat to get to a blind and someone is injured in the boat due to the driver's negligence of the, contact a Providence duck boating incident lawyer today.

What do I do if I am involved in a boating accident or witness an accident?

If you have been in a boating accident, you must stop and provide whatever assistance is necessary to the victims of the accident:

46-22-10. Collisions, accidents, and casualties

It shall be the duty of the operator of any motorboat or vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as he or she can do so without serious danger to his or her own vessel, crew, and passengers (if any), to render to other persons affected by the collision, accident, or other casualty, such assistance as may be practicable and as may be necessary in order to save them from or minimize any danger caused by the collision, accident, or other casualty, and also to give his or her name, address, and identification of his or her vessel in writing to any person injured and to the owner of any property damaged in the collision, accident, or other casualty.

Further, Rhode Island law requires that boat operators involved in an accident report quickly notify the authorities that there has been an accident:

46-22-21. Reporting of accidents, casualty, vandalism, and thefts

The operator or owner of a vessel on the waters of this state, involved, or whose vessel is involved, in an accident, casualty, vandalism, or theft in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000), or other casualty which results in death or injury to a person, shall report the same, and immediately give notice of the incident to the department of environmental management or to a nearby office of local or state police.

46-22-22. Owner required to make written reports

The owner of a vessel involved in an accident, casualty, vandalism, or theft in excess of five hundred dollars ($500), shall, within five (5) days after the incident, forward a written report of the incident to the department of environmental management, on forms provided by the department.

Does the law require me to have any specific equipment on my boat?

Rhode Island has very specific equipment requirements based on the size (class) of your boat:

46-22-5. Classification and required equipment

(a) Motorboats subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be divided into four (4) classes as follows:

(1) Class A. Less than sixteen feet (16') in length.

(2) Class 1. Sixteen feet (16') or over and less than twenty-six feet (26') in length.

(3) Class 2. Twenty-six feet (26') or over and less than forty feet (40') in length.

(4) Class 3. Forty feet (40') or over and not more than sixty-five feet (65') in length.

(b) Every motorboat, in all weathers, from sunset to sunrise, shall carry and exhibit the following lights when under way, and during that time no other lights which may be mistaken for those prescribed shall be exhibited.

(1) Every motorboat of Classes A and 1 shall carry the following lights:

(i) A bright white light aft to show all around the horizon.

(ii) A combined lantern in the fore part of the vessel and lower than the white light aft, showing green to starboard and red to port, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two (2) points abaft the beam of their respective sides.

(2) Every motorboat of Classes 2 and 3 shall carry the following lights:

(i) A bright white light in the fore part of the vessel, as near the stem as practicable, so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of twenty (20) points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light ten (10) points on each side of the vessel; namely, from right ahead to two (2) points abaft the beam on either side.

(ii) A bright white light aft to show all around the horizon and higher than the white light forward.

(iii) On the starboard side, a green light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten (10) points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two (2) points abaft the beam on the starboard side. On the port side, a red light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten (10) points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two (2) points abaft the beam on the port side. The side lights shall be fitted with inboard screens of sufficient height so set as to prevent these lights from being seen across the bow.

(3) Motorboats of Classes A and 1, when propelled by sail alone, shall carry the combined lantern, but not the white light aft, prescribed by this section. Motorboats of Classes 2 and 3, when so propelled, shall carry the colored side lights, suitably screened, but not the white lights, prescribed by this section. Motorboats of all classes, when so propelled, shall carry, ready at hand, a lantern or flashlight showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to avert collision.

(4) Every white light prescribed by this section shall be of such character as to be visible at a distance of at least two (2) miles. Every colored light prescribed by this section shall be of such character as to be visible at a distance of at least one mile. The word “visible” in this subsection, when applied to lights, shall mean visible on a dark night with clear atmosphere.

(5) When propelled by sail and machinery, any motorboat shall carry the lights required by this section for a motorboat propelled by machinery only.

(c) Any vessel may carry and exhibit the lights required by the federal regulations for preventing collisions at sea, 33 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq., in lieu of the lights required by subsection (b).

(d) Every motorboat of Class 1, 2, or 3 shall be provided with an efficient whistle or other sound producing mechanical appliance.

(e) Every vessel shall carry at least one life preserver, or life belt, or ring buoy, or other device of the sort prescribed by the regulations of the department of environmental management, for each person on board, so placed as to be readily accessible; provided, that every motorboat carrying passengers for hire shall carry, so placed as to be readily accessible, at least one life preserver of the sort prescribed by the regulations of the department of environmental management, for each person on board.

(f) Every motorboat shall be provided with such number, size, and type of fire extinguishers, capable of promptly and effectually extinguishing burning gasoline, as may be prescribed by the regulations of the department of environmental management, which fire extinguishers shall be at all times kept in condition for immediate and effective use and shall be so placed as to be readily accessible.

(g) The provisions of subsections (d) and (f) shall not apply to motorboats while competing in any race conducted pursuant to § 46-22-13 or, if the boats be designed and intended solely for racing, while engaged in such navigation as is incidental to the tuning up of the boats and engines for the race.

(h) Every motorboat shall have the carburetor or carburetors of every engine therein (except outboard motors) using gasoline as fuel, equipped with such efficient flame arrestor, backfire trap, or other similar device as may be prescribed by the regulations of the department of environmental management.

(i) Every motorboat and every vessel, except open boats, using as fuel any liquid of a volatile nature, shall be provided with such means as may be prescribed by the regulations of the department of environmental management, for properly and efficiently ventilating the bilges of the engine and fuel tank compartments so as to remove any explosive or inflammable gases.

(j) The department of environmental management is hereby authorized to make rules and regulations modifying the equipment requirements contained in this section to the extent necessary to keep these requirements in conformity with the provisions of the federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 as amended or the federal navigation laws or with the navigation rules promulgated by the United States Coast Guard.

(k) The department of environmental management is hereby authorized to establish and maintain, for the operation of vessels not more than sixty-five feet (65') in length on the waters of this state, pilot rules in conformity with the pilot rules contained in the federal navigation laws or the navigation rules promulgated by the United States Coast Guard.

(l) No person shall operate or give permission for the operation of a vessel, which is not equipped as required by this section, or modification thereof.

Exhaust Muffling Devices

The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any motorboat shall be effectively muffled by equipment so constructed and used as to muffle the noise of the exhaust in a reasonable manner. Outboard motors shall be equipped with underwater exhausts of standard manufacture as furnished by marine supply dealers. The use of cutouts is prohibited, except for motorboats competing in a regatta or boat race approved as provided in § 46-22-13, and for such motorboats while on trial-runs approved as provided in § 46-22-13(b), or during a period not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours immediately preceding the regatta or race and for the motorboats, while competing in official trials for speed records, during a period not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours immediately following the regatta or race. (46-22-8. Muffling devices).

Children

Any person transporting a child under thirteen (13) years of age in a recreational vessel less than sixty-five (65) feet in length on the waters of this state shall require that the child wear a personal flotation device approved by the United States coast guard when underway, unless below deck or in a closed cabin. (46-22-9.2. Flotation devices--Children).

Where can you find a Providence Boat Accident Lawyer to represent you?

Serving clients throughout Eastern New Hampshire, including Allenton, Ashaway, Attleboro, Bayside, Boston, Bradford, Cambridge, Chepachet, Cranston, Cumberland Hill, East Greenwich, Exeter, Fort Ninigret, Greenville, Harrisville, Hartford, Hope Valley, Kingston, Misquamicut, New Haven, Nooseneck, North Scituate, North Swansea, Pawtucket, Perryville, Providence, Rumford, Shannock, Springfield, Usquepaug, Valley Falls, Wakefield, Warwick, Washington, West Warwick, Westerly, Wood River Junction, Woonsocket, Worcestor, areas in the vicinity of Theodore Francis Green Memorial State Airport, and other communities in Providence County.

Call one of the experienced Providence Boating Accident Attorneys listed on this page for a free initial consultation and find out your rights.