This is a sponsored guest post.
When you work offshore, you are guaranteed certain assurances if you are injured while working due to maritime law – specifically due to the “Jones Act.” Since working on a big rig, vessel, or offshore rig is highly dangerous, those who put their lives in jeopardy are given some assurances that they will be taken care of financially if they are disabled, severely injured, or if they can no longer care for those who depend on them financially. The Jones Act was enacted to protect those who work as a fisherman, sailors, or anyone else who works off of the shore of land.
So what if someone has a boat and uses it for recreational activities and they are personally injured? Who is responsible for a person who is injured while on a recreational boat? Is that a case of personal injury, or one that is guided by maritime Law?
If someone is the victim of a boating accident and they end up dying due to their injuries or the accident itself, and the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence, then the family who lost their loved one may be entitled to sue the negligent person by filing a wrongful death suit. They may only do so if they can prove that they suffered financially as a result of their loved one’s death.
Recently in Texas, there was a disastrous boat collision on Lake Austin when two fishing boats were out past dusk. The three men on the boats were all injured or killed as a result of the boating accident – but to date, no one is clear whether the men were out recreationally boating and fishing, which would be subject to a wrongful death personal injury suit, or if they were commercially fishing, which would make it a case for maritime Law.
A witness who saw the men from shore proceeded to call the proper authorities to rescue the two men and stated that there were two male boaters who were found. One suffered only minor scrapes and injuries, but the other male apparently had sustained serious injuries, and as a result, needed to have both his leg and his arm amputated.
The original account was that the third man safely made it to shore and that he took off, which ended the search and rescue. But three days later, the third male’s body was washed up on shore. He apparently had not made it and had died as a result of the boating accident. The official report of the accident states that one boat appeared to be on the wrong side of the lake’s buoy, and as a result, it collided with the other boat due to poor visibility.
The problem now becomes whether the incident was a case that is guided by personal injury or if it was a case that is dictated by the Jones Act. If the men were commercial fisherman, then that would make the injuries and damages subject to the laws outlined in maritime law. However, if the boats were recreational boats, then it might be an issue of personal injury.
There are two types of personal injury claims that can be made. The first is for the man who suffered injuries so severe that it led to amputation, which will forever alter his future and what he is capable of. If it is a matter of personal injury, then he is entitled to recover for both his economic and noneconomic damages. Likewise, if the third boater was on a recreational boat, then his family is entitled to initiate a wrongful death suit.
However, if one or both of the boats was engaged in commercial fishing, then they can both be handled using maritime law outlines, or one can be personal injury and one guided by maritime law. It is easy to see how when things happen offshore it can be tricky.
If you have been in a boating accident of any kind, it is important that you hire an offshore injury lawyer who understands the complexity of offshore accidents, and how to get compensation for your injuries and damages by defining which law governs over the accident.
