Vero Beach Boating Accident Lawyer

Vero Beach offers boaters many opportunities to get out on the water. Unfortunately, that increases the chances of boat accidents. If you or a loved one sustained an injury in a boating accident, you can receive compensation for your losses.

Boating accident cases might have complications involved that could be difficult to navigate by yourself. A Vero Beach boating accident lawyer from Lulich & Attorneys can review your options and guide you throughout the process. Contact us today to learn more about how our team can assist you during a free consultation.

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Vero Beach Boating Accident Guide

Our Boating Accident Lawyers Can Take on Each Aspect of Your Case

Each of our attorneys advocates for those who have sustained injuries because of someone else’s actions. We have the necessary knowledge and skills to lead you through your case. We can build a strong case against the party who caused your injuries to help you seek compensation. In doing so, we offer these services:

Collecting Various Forms of Evidence

Evidence points us to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your boating crash.

In these cases, we may gather:

• Photos of the boating accident scene from multiple angles
• Photos of your injuries
• Available video footage
• The boating accident report
• Your medical records
• Witness statements
• Accident reconstruction analysis

Any shred of evidence can make all the difference in your case. If you think something could improve the validity of your case, bring it to your attorney,

Handling All Communication With Involved Parties

Expect a call from the insurance company a day or two after the crash. They want to get your take on what happened and perhaps offer you a settlement. In that case, direct them to your lawyer. If you don’t have one at that point, just give them basic details, like your name, address, and contact information.

When you hire legal representation, your attorney can take phone calls and emails on your behalf so you don’t get overwhelmed with your phone blowing up and keeping track of every conversation you’ve had with these companies. We know how to speak to these insurance representatives and can ensure they act in good faith.

Negotiate a Fair Settlement

Your attorney will quantify your damages and request that amount from the insurance company. Usually, they decline our demand and offer a lower amount. This answer sparks the negotiation process. Here, your lawyer goes back and forth with the other party until they reach common ground.

In most cases, we can settle out of court. However, if the other side isn’t cooperating, we can prepare for a trial and represent you throughout all court proceedings.

Results for Past Clients

Our Vero Beach personal injury attorneys know how to go after results that matter, including these six-figure settlements:

• $250,000.00 settlement for a motorcycle victim who was injured through no fault to his own. The accident resulted in serious injuries which led the victim to experiencing debilitating shoulder and back pain and resulted in a surgical operation. 
• $275,000.00 settlement for a child who was injured in a motor vehicle accident. The accident resulted in serious back pain, PTSD, and lifelong injuries as a result of the negligent driver. 
• $150,000.00 settlement for an individual who slipped and fell after her roofing company failed to properly secure and repair her roof. She sustained permanent injuries to her neck, shoulder, and lower back. 
• $250,000.00 settlement for a client who was negligently rear ended by a semi-truck which resulted in permanent back pain, shoulder pain, and ultimately resulted in a shoulder operation. 

Types of Compensation You Could Seek to Recover After a Boating Accident

After a boating accident, the types and amount of compensation you could seek depend on the damages you suffered.

When our attorneys start investigating your case, we can review the damages you incurred and may recover, such as:

• Medical expenses for past and future care: If your injuries require medical care, you could recover compensation for any of your medical expenses for doctor’s visits, diagnostic exams, surgeries, mobility aids, hospitalizations, or medications.
• Lost income: If you cannot work because of your injuries, you could seek compensation for your lost income. Our attorneys can speak to your employer and review your pay stubs to determine how much compensation you seek to recoup your lost earnings.
• Rehabilitation costs: Your injuries could require you to go through different rehabilitative therapies. If you need to go through speech, physical, or occupational therapy, you may include the costs of those services in your claim or lawsuit.
• Property damage expenses: If someone crashed into your boat and damaged or destroyed it, you could seek compensation for property damage and diminished property value.
• Pain and suffering: Boat accident injuries can lead to pain, discomfort, and inconvenience. Although intangible, your attorney can assess the value of these non-monetary damages by using your economic damages and testimony.
• Mental anguish: After a boating accident, you could go through emotional issues, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, fear, or sleeping issues.
• Loss of consortium: If your loved one passed away or suffered from injuries that left them incapacitated from the boating accident, you could recover loss of consortium damages. These damages could compensate you and other surviving family members for the loss of support and companionship your loved one provided.
• Funeral and burial expenses: Your family may qualify to cover the costs related to laying your late loved one to rest.

After dealing with boat accident injuries, you might need to recover compensation to move forward without struggling financially. Our attorneys can help you seek maximum compensation by establishing your current and potential future losses. During negotiations, we can advocate for you to help you seek the compensation you deserve.

Benefits of Choosing Lulich & Attorneys after a Vero Beach Boating Accident

At Lulich & Attorneys, we have helped thousands of past clients reach successful outcomes in their cases. We provide many benefits to the clients who choose to work with our firm.

They include:

• Free consultations: Before you start working with our firm, you can speak to a legal team member at no cost. Through the consultation, you can learn more about if we are a good fit. We can answer all of your questions and explain how we can help so you can make the most informed decision possible.
• Contingency fees: Our boating accident lawyers serving Vero Beach work on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee means you don’t have to pay us unless and until we recover compensation for your losses. Once you recover compensation, you will only pay us a previously agreed-upon percentage of your losses. By offering a contingency fee payment option, you have no financial risk in hiring our legal team.

Rest assured that our team will fight for your right to seek compensation through a claim or lawsuit.

Common Causes of Vero Beach Boating Accidents

Boating accidents along Vero Beach can happen for various reasons. With our investigative techniques, our legal team can identify who caused your injuries so you can file a claim or lawsuit against the right person.

Common causes of these accidents include:

Boat Operator Inattention

The operator of the boat must constantly pay attention to the water conditions. If they get distracted, they could collide with another boat or hit a rock or land. A common distraction boating operators encounter includes cell phone usage. Whether they call someone or text, taking their eyes off the water even for a few seconds could cause an accident. When this happens, liability could fall on the boating operator.

Inexperienced Boaters

When someone gets behind the wheel of the boat, they must have the proper training for the safety of their passengers and other boats around them. When an inexperienced boater doesn’t know these rules, accidents can happen.

Inexperienced boaters could also not have the ability to control the vessel appropriately. For example, they could take too sharp of a turn, causing passengers to fall out or suffer injuries inside the boat. Also, they might not know the correct protocol when another boat should have the right of way. If not, they could collide with the other boat.

Speeding

Excessive speeding is a form of reckless driving. Driving at excessive speeds can lead to catastrophic boating accidents. When the boating operator speeds, they could lose control of the boat or hit a submerged object. The higher the speed the boat travels when the accident occurs, the more severe the accident can be.

When a boat operator causes an accident because of excessive speeding, liability could fall on them.

Driving While Impaired

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), boating while intoxicated has caused one in five fatalities. Just like driving a motor vehicle, boat operators cannot drive while impaired.

Alcohol affects judgment, vision, balance, and coordination—all skills needed to properly drive a boat.

Other effects of alcohol on boaters include:

• Lowered cognitive abilities and ability to make judgment calls. Alcohol makes it harder for the boat operator to process information or accurately assess the situation so they can make good choices.
• Impaired physical abilities, such as having trouble balancing. They could also lack the coordination to steer the boat and manage the speed at the same time.
• They could have issues with their vision, such as reduced depth perception and poor focus.

When a boat operator deals with these impairments, they could make poor judgment calls, resulting in an accident.

Bad Weather or Dangerous Waters

Inclement weather or dangerous waters could cause boating accidents. For example, mist, fog, or rain could lower the ability of the boat operator to see clearly. Also, the operator could have difficulty controlling the vessel when waves become large enough.

Boat operators have tools that can predict the weather and water conditions. With that, they must do their due diligence by checking weather conditions before going out on the waters and operating the watercraft accordingly.

Our Vero Beach Boating Accident Team Can Build a Case Based on Negligence

Many boat accidents happen because of someone’s negligence. When someone doesn’t act reasonably like a prudent person in a similar situation would, you could file a claim based on negligence. Once our legal team starts working on your case, we can take steps to prove the other party satisfied the elements of negligence.

Those elements include:

• Duty of care: The defendant owed you, the plaintiff, the duty to act safely to keep others safe around them.
• Breach of duty: The defendant breached their duty by acting in an unsafe manner. For example, they sped excessively or drove while intoxicated.
• Causation: Our attorneys can prove the link between the breach of duty and your injuries. Had the defendant not breached their duty, the boat accident wouldn’t have occurred, causing your injuries.
• Damages: Our attorneys can prove you sustained damages because of your injuries. Examples of damages include medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.

More than one party might have played a role in causing the boating accident. In that case, your attorney can apply this standard to everyone involved in your case and pursue compensation from each one accordingly.

We Can Ensure You Don’t Miss Deadlines to File a Boating Accident Lawsuit

To file a lawsuit in the state of Florida, you must take action before the statute of limitations ends. Florida law states you usually have four years from the date of the boating accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Those bringing a wrongful death lawsuit generally have two years from the date of death to sue.

Exceptions exist, but once the deadline passes, you could miss out on your chance to recover compensation. Lulich & Attorneys can help ensure you comply with the deadline to seek the money you need if you contact us soon after the accident.

Consult a Vero Beach Boating Accident Lawyer at Our Firm Today

If you sustained injuries in a Vero beach boating accident, contact Lulich & Attorneys today for a free, no-obligation consultation at 321-334-2366.

Through the consultation, you can learn about your legal options and if our law firm is the right choice to take on your case. If you choose to move forward with our legal team, we can start working together toward a successful outcome. Reach out to a Vero Beach personal injury lawyer.