Attorney For Freedom Boat Club Injury Claim
If you were injured on a Freedom Boat Club boat or because of a Freedom Boat Club boat give our Maritime law firm a call. Our Maritime law firm practices throughout the State of Florida and has done so for 25 years. Many people do not realize when they are injured on a Freedom Boat Club boat or because of a Freedom Boat Club boat that Maritime law will almost always apply.
This means that the law which applies to car accidents and dog bites will NOT apply. It is important that you retain a Maritime attorney to fight for you on your important boating injury case. Don’t allow your claim to be handled by just an auto accident or dog bite attorney. Few attorneys are equipped to handle a Maritime case.
We are familiar with Freedom Boat Club, Another Day in Paradise boat club, GetMyBoat, Boatsetter, and numerous other boat club and boat rental companies. The problem many times in situations involving injury with boat rental and boat club companies is that in general the boat operator can have little boat operating experience. It is understandable why many people who have never owned a boat join a boat club: No loan payments, no maintenance, no clean up, no docking and trailering the vessel.
But that same ease of getting into a boat club or one-time boat rental invites many people to boat clubs and boat rental companies who have little or no experience in operating a vessel possibly capable of exceeding 50 mph or more.
Add to that: the State of Florida does not require a person born before 1988 to obtain any training to operate the vessel. If person is born after January 1, 1988, then all that is required is for the potential operator to take a brief on-line boating course and obtain a card demonstrating they completed that on-line class. No eye exam is required. No test drive is required. No Driver’s Ed classes.
So, unlike the requirement for an automobile license in Florida, there is only a minimal requirement for even the person who is born after January 1, 1988 to be able to drive a vessel out amongst other boaters. Yes, boat clubs have some protocols before they allow a “member” to operate their boat. No doubt the boat clubs and boat rental companies do not want an injury case to occur, but is the focus toward max safety or making the sale? For boat clubs the usual is: review a small manual, confer with the local captain, watch a video, take a brief written test, do a short test ride with a boat club employee.
For boat rental locations, there is not even a requirement that the potential operator of the vessel do a test drive. Again, what this means is more and more boaters on the water in powerful vessels being operated by people with no operating experience or the very minimum.
The reason this dynamic becomes important is that when it is time for the rookie operator to enter a channel with other vessels of all sizes in it, the rookie operator may not understand the rules of right of way nor understand how the wakes of other vessels can affect operation of the boat club boat or rented vessel.
In handling boat club injury and boat rental cases there are three primary boating injuries we see on a repeat basis.
- This includes the operator strikes another vessel or fixed object.
- Wake cases. The operator strikes an oncoming wave or wake at an improper speed and/or angle causing passengers to be ejected from their seats.
- On-Board injuries. These involve multiple types of injuries from failing to stow equipment (anchors, coolers, ropes, fishing equipment, etc.) while the vessel is under operation or even when the vessel is stopped.
This is not to overlook or downplay a severe category of boating injury cases caused when a propeller strikes a passenger, or when a vessel strikes a swimmer, snorkeler, or diver. In handling Maritime boating injury cases for claimants for 25 years—and never once for an insurance company—we have seen all of the above-described injury cases. We are currently handling multiple propeller-strike cases right now.
Attorney for Freedom Boat Club Injury Claim
If you need to find a Maritime law firm to represent you for a boating injury case you have found the right law firm to fight for you. You can count on our attorneys combined 40 years of Maritime experience to know all aspects of your boating accident case.
We Are Boat Law Attorneys in Florida
Phone: 888-B-O-A-T-L-A-W
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