Boating accidents not only can cause damage to watercraft but also can result in the drowning of innocent persons. Boating is a great way to enjoy the rivers and lakes of Michigan's Water Wonderland but far too often tragedy results because of the carelessness of a watercraft operator, so be ready to contact a boating accident lawyer in Michigan should tragedy strike.
Operators of boats, like automobile and truck drivers, have a legal obligation to operate watercraft in a safe manner. The major causes of boat accidents are operator inattention, careless/reckless operation, operator inexperience, operating at an unsafe speed, and failure to have a proper lookout. If you’re injured in a boating accident you need a Michigan boat accident attorney.
If you, or someone you care about, has been the unfortunate victim of a boating accident, you should call Cochran, Foley & Associates Michigan boat accident attorney team at 800-322-5543 and ask for Terry Cochran or Lynn Foley. Both possess the special knowledge, based on their extensive boating accident attorney experience, needed to make sure all necessary evidence has been gathered and to determine what legal action should be taken to protect your interests and future.
In Michigan it is a crime to operate a boat in a reckless or negligent manner. In addition to criminal penalties, boat operators also can be sued for negligence if their carelessness causes someone to get hurt. If a boat operator drives too fast for conditions and collides with another boat or object and someone gets hurt, the injured party may be entitled to sue and collect a monetary award.
Civil and criminal liability also may result when a boat operator causes an injury while operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. In Michigan, an operator's boat may be confiscated if he is under the influence of alcohol.
Alcohol and water don't mix
Alcohol and water don't mix
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Drinking and boating is very dangerous, and if injury results you should call a boating accident attorney. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that boat operators with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.10 are more than 10 times as likely to be killed in a boating accident than those with a blood alcohol level of zero.
Although most boating accidents occur because of the operator's negligence or recklessness, some boating accidents happen because of a defect in the boat itself, either in the boat's machinery or its hull (the body of the vessel). When an injury results because of the defective or dangerous condition of a boat, the injured person may have a product liability case against the manufacturer of the boat.
The attorneys at Cochran & Foley have the skills, legal knowledge and experience needed to protect people who have suffered personal injury or the death of a loved one because of a boating accident and will seek to win payment for their clients' injuries, expenses, and loss.
An attorney will lead your family through the steps needed to recover actual damages and may even assist in punitive damages being awarded. Actual damages are intended to restore a victim's financial situation to a position roughly equivalent to what it was before the accident occurred.
