Boat Accident Lawyer New Orleans, LA
If you were injured or your boat suffered damage, a New Orleans, LA boat accident attorney can help you get some much-needed compensation so you can get back on the water with minimal stress.
It’s important to remember that there are several laws and rules in place to ensure safe boating, and if you experienced a boat accident because of someone else’s negligence, the professionals at Scott Vicknair can help. Read on to learn more about safe boating, and contact us for a free consultation.
Boat Accidents Deserve Legal Intervention
Whether you’re boating for pleasure or boating for business, you need to remember that boating accidents have the potential to cause serious injury, financial damage, and even death. Much like a car accident, they require legal input if you’re seeking monetary damages.
If your boat accident caused death, injuries that required more than simple first aid, or more than $2,000 in damages, you’ll have to report it to the police. Of course, what comes after your boat accident can be a lengthy and complicated legal headache. A court may have to determine who was at fault, and you may need a New Orleans boat accident attorney to make sure you’re protected.
Determining Fault in a Boat Accident
There are rules of the road when it comes to boating. These rules are much like traffic laws on land, and they’re intended to keep everyone safe. And, much like traffic laws, if a party was found to be in violation of one of these rules when they were involved in an accident, the blame for the accident may rest squarely with them.
There are some common sense rules to boating, but it’s important to remember the basic rules of right of way as well. Violating the right of way in a boat can land you in legal trouble, especially if there’s an accident involved.
- First priority: Vessels that are not under command. The rules of priority for boating right of way are largely based on a vessel’s maneuverability. A vessel that is not under command (or otherwise incapable of maneuvering) gets top priority in boating traffic.
- Second priority: A vessel being overtaken. If you’re approaching another boat from astern, and that boat starts to make a maneuver, you have to yield.
- Third priority: A boat engaged in fishing. Fishing boats with deployed fishing equipment are much less maneuverable than other watercraft. You should yield to them and allow them plenty of space.
- Fourth priority: A vessel under sail. Sailboats rely on the wind to get around, and are thus less maneuverable than a powered vessel. A sailboat that is actively under sail (i.e. using only sails for propulsion) has higher priority than a powered vessel, but if a sailboat is using its inboard motor, it loses priority.
- Fifth priority: A powered vessel. Power-driven vessels are capable of the most maneuverability, and thus have the lowest priority in terms of yielding.
If a boat fails to respect right of way, the boat’s operator may be on the hook for serious financial damages.
Contact Scott Vicknair Today
A boating accident can be dangerous and expensive, and you deserve all the legal help you can get to set things straight. Get in touch with Scott Vicknair today and see how a New Orleans boat accident attorney from our office can help.
