Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer - Boating

Buckle Up On The Boat This Holiday Weekend

Eddie Farah — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:21:20 GMT

A warning before you head out this July 4^th weekend on the coastal or Intracoastal Florida waters – The Coast Guard says this holiday is the deadliest one for Florida boaters.

The Coast Guard, as well as Florida Fish and Wildlife, will be out patrolling the waterways this Independence Day holiday. Their message- wear a life jacket!

Not unlike a car, wearing a life jacket is a must when there are more boats on the water, especially at night when it’s difficult to see. Also people paying attention to the fireworks are not likely to be paying attention to their surroundings, so it’s always a good idea to have a second observer watching out for where you are going and looking for any hazards, such as debris, in the water.

Another thing to remember- just like driving a car – don’t drive a boat drunk. Alcohol is a known factor in about 20 percent of fatal boating accidents, so if you plan on drinking name a designated driver. The sun, noise, and wind are considered stressors that intensify the affects of alcohol and drugs.

According to the Coast Guard, national boating statistics showed the numbers of deaths from 2006 to 2007 dropped from 710 to 685. Unfortunately the number of accidents rose during the same period from 4,967 to 5,191.

Over two-thirds of fatal boating accidents involved drowning and of those 90 percent were not wearing a life jacket. The Coast Guard reports that three-quarters of drowning occurred in boats less than 21 feet. And the majority occurred on boats where the operator had not received safety instructions.

When out in deep water, running out of gas is a problem for some who are not paying attention. The Coast Guard will be bringing extra fuel containers onboard for those boaters. And after ten hours on the water – don’t forget about the drained batteries you will need to get back home.

Many experienced boaters say this weekend is one they decide to leave the boat in the dry dock!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Boaters Rescued Off Coast Of Jacksonville

Eddie Farah — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:06:23 GMT

This time the story had a good ending.

Six people were rescued in the Atlantic about 90 miles east of Jacksonville after their boat started to sink.

Luckily for the group, a good Samaritan saw the boat with the six aboard as it was taking on water. He called the Coast Guard to aid in the rescue.

A Coast Guard helicopter came from Clearwater to pick up the passengers, and a Coast Guard jet came from Miami with a de-watering pump the boaters could use. Also a Navy P-3 aircraft was used to help spot the sinking boat.

Unlike the recent boating accident that took the lives of three men in the Gulf, this time the boaters had their life jackets on.

The U.S. Coast Guard estimates life jackets could save the lives of about 80 percent of those killed in boating accidents. The boat owner has the responsibility to remind everyone onboard to wear their jackets because accidents happen swiftly leaving little time to reach a stowed jacket.

If you are suddenly thrown from a boat during a collision, a life jacket will keep you afloat, as it will if you are plunged into freezing water, if thrown off balance while fishing, or sinking in heavy seas. And remember, adults jackets will not work on a child.

There really is no good excuse not to wear a life vest.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Boat Driver Not Intoxicated In Easter Sunday Wreck That Killed Five

Eddie Farah — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:46:27 GMT

Blood alcohol has just come back on the person in the driver's seat of that Easter Sunday boating crash on the Intracoastal that left five people dead.

There was a great deal of speculation that alcohol had some part to play, but the test came back on the 44-year old woman at 0.035 percent, well below the blood-alcohol level for intoxication in Florida at 0.08.

That means the driver had the equivalent of a drink and a half.

On Easter Sunday, nine people were injured in addition to those who died aboard the 22- foot Crownline which slammed into a tugboat anchored at a private dock about a mile north of the Palm Valley Bridge.

44-year old Jacqueline Allen was steering the Crownline, though she was not the owner. She died in the crash.

It’s been estimated she was driving the boat about 30 to 35 mph when the boat hit a tugboat tied up on one of the docks that extend into the Intracoastal in this eight-mile stretch along Palm Valley known as "the ditch" to boaters. That's because the navigable waters are shallow and narrow.

Allen and her friend, 42-year-old Immaculada Pierce were invited to join the group at the Conch House Marine in St. Augustine. Pierce was also killed.

An attorney for some of the injured says that people sitting on the bow of the boat obscured the view of the driver and that's what led to the crash.

Another theory is emerging, and it's a danger that has been long known in this stretch of north Florida waterway.

David Roach, who is the executive director of the Florida Inland Navigation District, has been speaking out for awhile about some of the private docks sticking into the Intracoastal Waterway. Roach tells the Florida Times Union, “I think that’s what you saw here, [the dock] was so close to the channel it didn’t give this person any degree of error. Once she strayed out of the channel she was in trouble.”

Some of the docks are built 36 feet from the edge of the navigation channel, which in itself is only 125 feet wide. With docks on both side of the channel that does not leave much room to maneuver.

This investigation promises to take some time as the nine injured survivors are interviewed, and the engine block is examined closely as well as the throttle and damage to both boats.

An investigation will include whether the docks need to be modified to make this area safer. As one observer said, as it stands now, this was an accident waiting to happen. About the best thing that can happen to honor those who died, is to make this a safer situation for everyone who uses this waterway so we never see a repeat of this senseless loss of life. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Fatal Boating Accident Grief And Tributes Pour In

Eddie Farah — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:40:19 GMT

It was a senseless loss of life on Easter Sunday. And the funerals are now underway.

Three of the five killed Sunday on a boat in the Intracoastal area of Palm Valley south of Jacksonville are being laid to rest. The first funeral was held Thursday for 20-year-old Liz Rosenfeld a student at the University of North Florida. Her friends have entered about 1,500 tributes on a Facebook page set up in her honor.

Two women who were friends will be buried Friday. They were invaluable members of the YMCA family of Clay County where they both worked.

Altogether five people were killed and nine injured when the 22- foot boat in which they were riding hit a tugboat in the Intracoastal Waterway. The tug was tied up to a barge at a worksite building a boat lift.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Shand’s trauma center took in the mass casualties that included blunt trauma, head injuries, fractures and internal injuries.

Alcohol was present at the boat crash site. It is not illegal to have an open container of alcohol on the boat as it would be in a car. It is illegal if the boat’s operator is impaired. No word on who was driving the boat, how fast it was traveling, or to what extent, if at all, he was impaired.

Charges are not out of the possibility here. For one thing the 22-foot Crownline was over capacity by two people. For another, it was traveling in a no-wake zone. Witnesses at The Bridge restaurant say they saw it going nearly full throttle. Then they heard the emergency vehicles.

The boat belongs to 37-year-old Melvin Bethel of Pone Vedra Beach, who is listed in fair condition at the Mayo Clinic.

The Florida Wildlife Commission is conducting the investigation as is the National Transportation Safety board because of the number of deaths and injuries.

There is a lot to study here - the throttle and steering mechanisms, what the engine tells them, and what damage to both vessels reveals. Ultimately the federal agency will share what we all can learn to prevent injury from boating accidents.

Our hearts go out to all of the families impacted by this tragedy. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Lifejacket And Staying With Boat May Have Saved Rescued Boater

Eddie Farah — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:41:18 GMT

The Coast Guard received a call early Sunday morning that four boaters did not return from a fishing trip off the coast of Clearwater, Florida. The four men are hard to miss, they include Oakland Raiders linebacker Victor “Marquis” Cooper, Detroit Lions defensive end, Corey Smith, William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler. Beakley and Schuyler were former University of South Florida players.

The four set out about 6:30 Saturday morning for a fishing trip in the Gulf and their 21-foot boat was anchored about 35 miles off shore. While the weather was calm in the morning, winds picked up and so did the seas reported by the Coast Guard to be up to 15 feet on Sunday. The boat overturned.

While the Coast Guard has retrieved Schuyler, found sitting on top of the overturned boat Monday, the other three are still missing. With water reported to be about 64-degrees, Schulyer is lucky to be alive after his 18-hour ordeal.

When the men left Saturday, the weather was calm, but later picked up. A boat that small is not a match for waves that high and even though the Everglades-manufactured boat is made of compressed foam and is difficult to sink, waves that high are capable of flipping it.

Boaters should always wear life vests, as everyone did onboard here. A vest will keep you floating a little longer increasing your survival time. Typically someone can survive two to seven hours in water that cold before hypothermia sets in.

Letting someone know where you are going to be is a good idea. In this case, no one received a distress or SOS call as the weather worsened. It’s too early to tell why.

Boaters suggest you file a float plan and do constant radio checks to monitor the weather.

If in trouble, an emergency position-indicating radio beacon or EPIRB, signals maritime distress as does an ELT, emergency locator transmitter or PLB, a personal locator beacon, which is for a person in distress. Radio beacons are used to get rescuers on the site within a precious few hours to increases the odds of survival.

A Global Positioning Satellite unit, (GPS) can help the Coast Guard locate you more quickly. Forget cell phones that far off shore.

And boaters are always advised to take a boating safety course. The Coast Guard Auxiliary offers one.

Four large men, a relatively small boat, uncooperative weather and just plain bad luck. We will keep our fingers crossed, wish rescuers the best and hope the luck turns for these three men. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah