“What legal duties do boat operators have to prevent boating accidents and injuries?”

I’m Katelyn Holub, a personal injury attorney practicing law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss topics related to personal injury law.

Today’s question comes from listener who would like to know what legal duties boat operators have to prevent boating accidents.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, each year, there are over 4,000 boating accidents, resulting in over 2,000 injuries and several hundred deaths. Our firm has represented people seriously injured in boating accidents as well as people whose family members were killed in boating accidents.

In Indiana, boat operators are required to follow certain safety precautions.  These safety rules include the duty of a boat operator to keep a proper lookout.  It’s imperative to ensure there aren’t other boats, objects, or persons in and about the water that they might collide with.

Another duty boat operators have by law is the responsibility to be aware of changing weather conditions. For example, if you’re operating a boat on Lake Michigan and a storm is forecast to hit the region soon, you are required to keep your passengers safe and stay alert of the dangers posed by changes in weather such as increased waves, wave heights, winds, and take action accordingly.

These are just some of the key rules of safety for boat operators. There are boating safety courses available for all types of recreational boaters.  Check out the U.S. Coast Guard’s website for more information on the wide variety of safety courses being offered.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have questions about your legal rights if you get hurt due to the carelessness of another person, or as a result of substandard medical care, or due to a product defect, construction injury, or any other type of personal injury, please give us a call at +1 (219) 736-9700. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at www.DavidHolubLaw.com – while there make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth”.