Boating & Personal Watercraft Accidents

Boating and personal watercraft (Jet Skis and Sea Doos) accidents often occur due to negligence. They can result in serious and sometimes deadly injuries. There are many different types of water sport accidents, including accidents that occur during recreational activity, on a cruise ship, navy vessel, or via maritime work. Regardless of the type of boating accident involved, a boating accident lawyer specializing in personal injuries from boating and watersport accidents can help recover any damages lost as a result of the accident.

We can help no matter where your boating accident may have occurred. Whether close to Seattle and Bellevue in Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, or Lake Union; or while you are vacationing at Lake Chelan, the San Juan Islands, Hood River, or elsewhere. Boat, watercraft, and jet ski accident injury attorneys at the Davis Law Group can help you. Having experience with water-related accident claims, we have the skill and expertise necessary to represent you.

If you or a family member has suffered personal injury as the result of a boating or personal watercraft accident, Seattle Attorney Chris Davis and the Davis Law Group, P.S. can help you. We can help whether you live in Bellevue, Everett, Kirkland, Federal Way, Tacoma, Auburn, Olympia, Burien, Renton, Redmond, Federal Way or the greater Seattle area. Having substantial experience with pedestrian and bicycle accident claims and trying these cases in court, the Davis Law Group has the skill and expertise necessary to help you.

FREE Case Review
Contact us now for a FREE conversation about your boating or personal watercraft accident case. There is no obligation to hire a lawyer.  We are usually retained on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee until our personal injury attorneys successfully recover fair compensation for you.

Recognized For Boating Accident Experience And Innovation In Washington State

Seattle attorney Chris Davis has been recognized by his peers as a very experienced and successful personal injury or accident attorney.  He has been named a "Rising Star Attorney" and a "Super Lawyer" by other experienced lawyers in the field of personal injury law.  Mr. Davis has successfully recovered dozens of settlements and jury verdicts at great odds and by sheer perseverence and work ethic.  Many times Mr. Davis has recovered jury verdicts that are greater than 8 or 10 times the amount of the insurance company's last or "final" offer before trial.  Insurance companies are very aware of Mr. Davis' success in the courtroom, and as a result will usually offer him a premium settlement offer to avoid trial, especially in cases involving pedestrian and bicycle accidents.  You can count on Mr. Davis to recover the highest settlement offer the insurance company is prepared to give before trial.

Boating & Personal Watercraft Accident Statistics

Boating Accidents at a Glance
The Coast Guard received reports for a total of 6,419 recreational boating accidents in 2001. The casualty data for 2001 showed 681 fatalities and 4,274 injuries.

Life Jackets & Risk of Dying in an Accident
Four hundred and ninety-eight (498) boaters drowned in 2001. Life jackets could have saved the lives of approximately 420 boaters who drowned. In 2001, approximately eight out of every 10 victims in fatal boating accidents were not wearing life jackets. Boaters continue to be at a greater risk of dying when involved in an accident during the fall and winter months than in the summer. Besides the colder weather and water, there are fewer boaters and patrol officers in the area to rescue boaters in distress. When waters are below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia can set in quickly. Those who hunt and fish from boats, especially in colder weather, need to dress for possible immersion and wear their life jackets. Boaters in larger bodies of water should also take advantage of using available distress alerting and position indicating technologies to improve their chances of survival if a mishap occurs.

Fatalities by Known Boat Length
Eighty-five (85) percent of fatalities occurred on boats less than 26 feet in length. Seventy-two (72) percent of those victims drowned. Specifically, 322 fatalities occurred on boats less than 16 feet in length and 254 occurred on boats 16 to less than 26 feet in length.

Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Boating Accidents
Alcohol involvement in fatal accidents accounted for thirty-four (34) percent of all boating fatalities -- up eight (8) percent from 1999. A Coast Guard study estimates that boat operators with a blood alcohol concentration above .10 percent are estimated to be more than 10 times as likely to be killed in a boating accident than boat operators with zero blood alcohol concentration.

Fatalities by Known Boat Operator Education
Approximately eighty (80) percent of all boating fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not completed a boating safety education course.

Accident Causes
Nearly 70 percent of all reported accidents involve operator controllable factors. The primary causes of accidents are operator inattention, careless/reckless operation, operator inexperience, operating at an unsafe speed, and no proper lookout.

Types of Boating Accidents
“Capsizings” and “Falls Overboard” accounted for 386 fatalities, nearly sixty (60) percent of all reported boating fatalities. Nine out of every 10 of those victims drowned . “Collision with Another Vessel” was the most reported type of accident . These accidents resulted in 1,366 injuries and accounted for nearly nine (9) million dollars in property damage.

Age of Boating Fatality Victims
Twenty-six (26) children age 12 and under lost their lives while boating in 2001. One hundred and thirty-seven (137) boaters died in the 40-49 age group category -- the highest number reported for any age group.

Types of Casualties By Types of Vessels
Three hundred and fifty-two (352) fatalities occurred with the use of open motorboats, just over half of all boating fatalities. One hundred and one (101) people lost their lives while using canoes/kayaks in 2001. Approximately ninety-three (93) percent of canoe/kayak deaths were caused by drowning. Fifty (50) fatalities occurred with the use of Personal Watercraft (PWC), the lowest number of PWC fatalities reported since 1993. Approximately eighty (80) percent of all reported injuries were associated with the use of open motorboats (46%) and PWC (34%). Lacerations were the most reported type of injury for open motorboats. For PWC, broken bones were the most often reported type of injury.

Library for Boating & Personal Watercraft Accidents:

• May 17-25 - National Safe Boating Week   
• NEWS: Seattle man dies in boating accident on American Lake   
  Description: A 54-year-old Seattle man died Saturday in a boating accident on American Lake, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
• NEWS: 5 Killed In Boating Accident   
  Description: Five people - including a father and son from Seattle - died as their boat jockeyed for position for a large fireworks show.
• NEWS: Boating accident kills man; second man resuced from Lake Washington   
  Description: A boat outing on Lake Washington turned deadly when a Duvall man died and his friend was hospitalized after an accident involving a high speed and possibly alcohol.
• NEWS: Seattle man dead in boating accident   
  Description: ARTICLE: Seattle man dead in boating accident

Davis Law Group
2101 Fourth Avenue
Suite 630
Seattle, WA 98121

Toll Free: (800) 883-0265
Phone: (206) 727-4000