Florida Boating Accidents by the Numbers

Source: FWC Boating Accident Statistics 2019

Sun, Sand, and $16 Million in Property Damage

With over 1,350 miles of coastline, 961,266 registered watercraft, and a lack of strict boating laws, whenever you operate or ride in a boat in Florida you risk being injured in an accident.

Unfortunately, throughout South Florida people operate incredibly massive and powerful boats without training or licenses. In fact, 80% of boat operators who were involved in fatal boating accidents in 2019 had no formal boater education. And all too often they treat what should be a serious responsibility as a game, which results in significant financial, physical, and emotional damages to innocent people.

Moreover, a 2019 report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found three important points:

• 10 counties were responsible for 61% of the reportable boating accidents in Florida.
• South Florida is over-represented in the top-10 boating accident list, with Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties ranked seventh, third, second, and first respectively.
• Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties accounted for $11.1 million (69%) of the total $16.1 million in property damage caused by boating accidents.

Florida Boating Laws

Unlike for motor vehicles, Florida does not require a boating license to operate watercraft. There are, however, certain age restrictions on the use of personal watercraft, and in 2010 the state statutes were changed to require boat operators born on or after January 1, 1988 to pass an FWC- and NASBLA-approved boater safety course to operate a motorboat with 10 horsepower or more. Additionally, boat operators must have in their possession a Florida Boating Safety Education ID Card and a photo identification card.

Florida tourists must also comply with these boating safety education requirements. Visitors who want to rent a boat while they’re in Florida may obtain a temporary certificate. Otherwise, a Florida boater ID card is not required if you can show proof of having successfully completed a boater safety course or equivalent exam that meets or exceeds Florida’s requirements.

Exemptions to the Boater Safety Requirements

Some people may still be exempt from these statutory boating safety requirements. An abridged list of these exemptions includes:

• A person operating a motorboat under 10 horsepower.
• A person operating a boat on a private lake or pond.
• An operator who is accompanied onboard by 1) a person who is at least 18 years old and possesses the required boater safety ID card or 2) who is exempt from the educational requirements, provided that person is attendant to and responsible for the safe operation of the vessel.
• A person operating a vessel within 90 days after the purchase of that vessel and who has a bill of sale available for inspection aboard that vessel.
• A person operating a vessel within 90 days after completing an approved boating safety course who has a photographic ID and a completion certificate for a boater education course. (The course completion certificate must provide the student’s first and last name, date of birth, and the date the course was successfully completed.)

Pro Tip: Although boat operators are not obligated to have boating licenses, Florida law (F.S. § 327.32) still demands that any operator of a vessel exercise the highest degree of care in order to prevent injuries to others.

Don’t “Drink and Boat”

Perhaps because boats are primarily viewed as recreational crafts, many people wrongly assume that “drinking and driving” laws don’t apply to boats. However, as with any other heavy machine, alcohol and drugs can also impair your ability to operate a boat safely. Florida has strict laws against operating a boat or other watercraft while under the influence.

For adults over the legal drinking age, the same blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of .08 applies to boat operators as to drivers. Similar testing and citation laws also apply. In addition, any boat operator under 21 with a BAC of .02 or higher is in violation of Florida law.

State-Controlled Waters

One concern that could crop up with boating accidents that seems foreign to many people has to with jurisdiction. When we are dealing with the ocean, there are three levels of governance to keep in mind: state, federal, and international.

These three levels alternate as we move further out from the coast: Florida law governs the waters closest to the shore; Federal law governs the second layer; and beyond that you are in international waters. What’s more, state waters are not consistent all around.

• Atlantic and Keys: State waters on the Atlantic coast or south coast extend out 3 nautical miles (~3.5 miles). Federal rules apply between 3 and 200 nautical miles. Beyond the 200-mile mark, international rules apply.
• Gulf of Mexico: State waters in the Gulf of Mexico extend to 9 nautical miles. Federal waters span from the end of state waters to 200 miles. Beyond the 200-mile mark, international rules apply.

Jurisdictional issues will not affect personal watercraft accidents or accidents involving smaller boats, which will tend to stay closer to shore or operate in lakes or inland waterways. But deep-sea fishing vessels venture further out into open waters and an accident in this instance may fall outside of Florida’s jurisdiction. In fact, in 2019 5% of boating accidents occurred outside of Florida-controlled waters. Therefore, choosing a boating accident lawyer who can identify the correct set of laws and statutes that govern your case and explain your rights is critical.

Reportable Accidents

Florida law further states that boat operators must report accidents with over “$2,000 apparent aggregate damage” to the proper authorities. It can be very difficult to assess damages in these instances, which will include property damages to the boat(s) involved and physical damages to persons on the boats. As such, it’s a good idea to make a report of any boating accident to ensure documentation is clear and complete in case a personal injury claim needs to be made.

Top Three Causes of Boating Accidents and Injuries

“Boat” is often used as a stand in for any number of types of watercraft, ranging from a 9-foot jet ski to a 25-foot Bowrider to a 120-foot luxury yacht. As such, the causes of boating accidents vary widely as do the location in which they occur. Boat accidents happen in shallow and deep water, on or near the docks, in marinas, and anywhere else boats might travel. That being said, when we dive into the data, we do see that there a few factors that cause a high percentage of reportable boating accidents.

Accidents and Operator Error

According to FWC data, inattention is by far the most common cause of boating accidents in South Florida. Operator inexperience and excessive speed come in at numbers two and three. Together, as you can see in the chart below, these three factors account for nearly half of all boating accidents in Florida.

Pro Tip: Increased or mandatory boater education may also be a possible remedy. The 2019 FWC report found that 80% of boat operators who were involved in fatal boating accidents had no formal boater education.

Most Common Boat Accident Injuries

Boat operators and passengers rarely wear protective gear or safety restraints when out on the water. This means there is much more opportunity in an accident for bodies to dislodge, jerk, and hit other objects. In fact, most boating accident injuries are caused by slamming into the boat itself.

In South Florida, the majority of boating injuries occur in closed cabin motorboats where occupants have even more occasion to crash into the sides and walls of the boat in an accident. This explains why boat occupants are injured more often than operators in boating accidents. When a boat passenger or operator slams against the interior or side of a boat, certain injuries are more likely:

Most Common Boat Accident Injuries

(Source) 2020 FWC Boat Accident Statistics

All of these injuries can be serious, require long hospitalizations, and cost tens of thousands of dollars to treat. If you’ve been the victim of a boating accident here in South Florida, you should seek the help of an experienced boat accident lawyer who can evaluate your case and explain your legal options. Going it alone can jeopardize your case and reduce the amount of damages you can recover.

Fatalities

Falling overboard is consistently the leading cause of boating fatalities. Once in the water, victims can be sucked into the propeller, struck by other boats, or smashed into rocks or other objects by the waves.

However, trauma causes only a small percent (19%) of boat accident fatalities. In reality, 66% of boat accident fatalities are actually due to drowning. Moreover, a vast majority of these fatalities may have been preventable insofar as 88% of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.

Assessing Liability and Recovering Damages in Boating Accidents

Florida law (F.S. § 327.32) requires any operator of a boat or watercraft to exercise the highest degree of care in order to prevent injuries to others. If a boat operator disregards or flouts this duty of care, they can be held liable for damages that result from their negligence. To successfully bring a claim for negligence, an injured party must show that the operator failed to operate the boat in a reasonably safe manner and that this failure caused the injury. Common negligent conduct includes:

• Taking the boat out in poor weather conditions,
• Turning the wrong way into a wave and causing the boat to capsize,
• Going too fast to avoid hitting another vessel, or
• Failing to have adequate safety equipment on board.

However, it is not only the boat operator that can be held liable for a boat accident. When assessing fault and liability in a boating accident, you need to consider a range of factors. There may be multiple parties who bear responsibility for your injuries:

• The operator or owner of the boat you were on,
• The operator or owner of the boat that hit or collided with your boat,
• The manufacturer of the boat, defective flotation devices, or safety equipment,
• The owner of the dock or marina, or
• Anyone responsible for an obstruction in the water.

Pro Tip: “Liability waivers” used by many boat rental companies are not iron clad. The enforceability of a given waiver depends on the specific contract language and the circumstances of your case. If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, have your lawyer review the waiver and assess your case.

We have found that many Florida residents are unaware that they can make these rightful claims when they’re involved in boating accidents. They simply don’t realize the extent of the compensation that they are entitled to recover.

Types of Boat Accident Damages

The recoverable damages from a boating accident include both economic (“special”) damages and non-economic (“general”) damages. Punitive damages could also be on the table in extreme cases, but you should talk to a lawyer to discuss that option. These damages include:

Barriers to Recovering Damages in Boating Accidents

There is one huge roadblock facing boat accident victims that doesn’t apply to car or truck accidents: liability insurance. Florida has mandatory $10,000 minimums for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL) for motor vehicles. However, liability insurance coverage is only suggested, not required, for boats.

As such, if you are injured in a boat accident, there is no guarantee that you are covered by an insurance policy for your immediate medical expenses. Your only option may be to sue the negligent boat operator for compensation, but there is also no guarantee that they will have the funds needed to cover your expenses.

A qualified Florida boat accident lawyer can investigate what insurance policies are in play, who might be liable, who has the ability to pay, and advise you properly.

Why You Should Hire a Boat Accident Injury Lawyer

If you are here, chances are that you or someone you know has been injured in a boating accident. We are truly sorry that you are going through this, and we sincerely hope that you recover from your injuries and that you can return to your normal life as soon as possible.

We also want to help you make smart decisions about your case so you can choose the right boating accident lawyer and get on the path to full recovery—both physically and financially. The effects of a boat accident can be devastating, and without a dedicated personal injury lawyer on their side, victims often don’t recover the full amount of damages to which they are entitled. When thinking about hiring a Boca Raton lawyer for your boat accident, keep a few points in mind:

If you have suffered a boating injury in Boca Raton, you need to seek out an experienced Florida accident and injury attorney who will guide you through the claims process. The insurance company will have attorneys and insurance adjusters on their side to protect their interests—so should you.

The personal injury lawyers here at Personal Injury & Accident Law Center would love to speak to you about your case and tell you how we can help you get on the path to recovery. Call us today at (561)372-3800 or click the button below to schedule a free case evaluation.