Santa Ana Boating Accident Lawyer

Santa Ana Boating Accident Attorney

Sustaining injuries during a boating accident can create all kinds of problems in your life. It could leave you facing substantial medical bills and an inability to work, or even the loss of future earning potential if you become disabled. A Santa Ana boating accident lawyer can help you recover compensation that could make it easier to pay bills and move on with your life.

Work With Easton & Easton

Our dedicated Santa Ana personal injury attorney team at Easton & Easton is a family-owned firm that cares about its clients. We have recovered over $2 billion in settlements and awards, and one out of every three of our settlements has been for $100,000 or more. However, past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.

There’s a reason our clients are often referred to us by doctors and other attorneys. We have a proven track record, both in negotiations and, when it becomes necessary, in court. You can trust us with your complex boating accident claim.

Why Hire a Boating Accident Lawyer?

In 2024, the Coast Guard reported 3,887 boating accidents that involved 556 deaths and 2,170 injuries. A total of $88 million of property damage also occurred as a result of recreational boating incidents. That same year, there were 479 recreational boating incidents in California alone, which resulted in 214 injuries and 47 deaths.

If you’ve been injured in a boating incident, you can hire a boating accident lawyer to help you:

• Understand boating accident laws.
• Determine who was liable for your accident.
• Collect evidence to support your claim.
• Interview witnesses to the event.
• File your initial claim and other paperwork.
• Negotiate a fair settlement.
• Take your case to court if the liable party’s insurance company won’t come to the table with a reasonable offer.

Having a dedicated Santa Ana boating accident attorney on your side is a great way to both reduce stress and improve your chances of a positive outcome in your case.

Leading Causes of Boating Accidents

Boating accidents happen for all kinds of reasons, but the leading causes of collisions include:

• Operator inattention
• Improper lookout
• Operator inexperience
• Excessive speed
• Operating in dangerous conditions
• Boating under the influence

Boating accidents also include accidental drownings. If, for example, someone throws another person into the water and they cannot swim, there could be criminal charges brought, and the person who threw the victim overboard could also face claims in civil court. Unfortunately, many boating deaths involve drowning. Having proper life vests and flotation devices on board before leaving the shore is a good way to minimize the risk of drowning.

Types of Claims Arising From Boating Accidents

There are three primary types of legal claims that can be used, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Your lawyer can help you determine which of them applies to your case. These three types of claims are:

1. Negligence. In negligence-based claims, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant breached their duty to operate the vessel safely, directly causing injuries and other damages.
2. Product liability. Some accidents are caused not by any fault of the boat operator, but by defects in the boat itself or its equipment. If a faulty engine or steering system was to blame, for example, those are product liability issues and a claim may be brought against the boat’s manufacturer, distributor, or seller.
3. Wrongful death. Drownings are some of the most common causes of wrongful deaths in boating accidents. If an accident leads to a fatality in any way, the deceased’s family can work with a reliable Santa Ana wrongful death lawyer to seek full compensation for their losses.

Your attorney can help you determine what type of claim to pursue.

Determining Liability for Boating Accidents

Whether you were out on the ocean or in the nearby Lake Perris State Recreation Area, taking a recreational vessel out onto the water can make for a fun day. It can also be dangerous, though, especially if boat owners or operators are negligent. Determining the liability for boat accidents can be tricky, though. Here are some of the parties that could be responsible:

• Boat operators. If a boat operator is negligent in their operation of the boat and that causes injuries or death, it could lead to a boat accident claim. The claim may state that the operator failed to exercise a reasonable standard of care to protect the safety of the boat’s occupants, meaning they didn’t take basic steps to prevent injury.
• Boat owners. If another party owns the boat and it has not been maintained in a condition conducive to safe use, the boat owner may hold a portion of the liability for any accidents that occur as a result.
• Boat manufacturers. If the boat has a defect that causes it to be unsafe for its intended use, the manufacturer may bear a portion of the blame for the accident.
• Boat rental companies. If you rented a boat and it was not maintained in an adequate condition to prevent injuries, you could file a claim against the rental company.
• Other passengers. Sometimes, other passengers act in a negligent or reckless manner, endangering everyone on the boat. This can lead to people falling over the side or becoming injured in other ways.
• Government agencies. If warning buoys were misplaced, the government agency responsible for maintaining the waterway could be held responsible for any accidents that occurred as a result.

You can trust your attorney to help you determine all of the potentially liable parties. Even if they determine that you played a role in causing the accident, you may still be able to recover compensation.

California’s pure comparative negligence standard allows injured parties to recover compensation even if they were up to 99% at fault for the accidents that caused their injuries. Your final settlement may be reduced commensurate with the percentage of fault you are assigned.

Are Operators at Fault for Accidents Involving Waves, Wakes, or Submerged Objects?

Operators must anticipate waves, wakes, and submerged objects. If they fail to slow down or make sudden maneuvers to avoid them, it can contribute to causing an accident. There is an exception. Hitting an underwater object may not be the boat operator’s fault if they were maintaining a reasonable lookout, using appropriate maps, and did not have any reason to suspect the presence of the obstacle.

How to File a Boating Accident Claim

Depending on where your boating accident took place, you may need to file a claim at either the state or federal level. If the accident occurred on what are known as navigable waterways, it may fall under general maritime law. Navigable waterways are:

• Subject to the ebb and flow of the tide
• Are presently used or have been used in the past to transport interstate or foreign commerce

If your boating accident took place not on the ocean or another navigable waterway, such as a large river, but in one of the many lakes within a day’s drive of Santa Ana, your case should be controlled by state laws and your claim must be filed in a state court. State courts handle claims that arise from boating accidents on small, private lakes and rivers contained entirely within the state’s boundaries.

If you’re not sure which of these situations applies, you should contact our law firm to discuss your legal options for moving forward with your boating accident claim.

How to Get Compensated for Your Injuries

In most cases, accident victims receive compensation through the boat owner or operator’s insurance company. The owner of the boat should carry liability coverage under a boat policy, but some boats are also covered under homeowners’ policies. Liability insurance policies only cover up to a certain predefined amount of damages. The policyholder is then responsible for paying any additional costs associated with restoring property or paying for medical care.

If there is no insurance policy in place to cover accidents, injured parties still have the right to file claims. You can file a claim against an uninsured defendant personally. While collecting compensation is typically harder in these cases, your attorney can assist you throughout this difficult process.

Types of Compensation Available

The types of compensation available to people injured in boating accidents are similar to those available to any other motor vehicle accident victim. Consulting an attorney can clarify what a high-value injury claim is worth in your specific situation You could recover:

• Financial damages. This type of damage includes any compensable damages that come in the form of easily calculable losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and out-of-pocket expenses associated with paying for medical care or modifications to a home following an injury.
• Non-financial damages. This type of damage includes less easily calculable losses. You could claim pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment, for example. The court would then use the other details of your case to determine what your non-financial damages might be worth.
• Punitive damages. It’s rare for punitive damages to be assigned in a boating accident case. Courts use punitive damages to punish defendants and deter similar behavior in the future. If the defendant was acting maliciously or out of egregious negligence, you may be eligible to receive this form of damages.

If you’re not sure how much your claim might be worth, don’t worry. Once we learn the details of your case, we should be able to come up with a reasonable estimate of how much you might expect to get from your final settlement.

FAQs

How Many Days Do You Have to Report a Boating Accident in California?

How much time you have to report a boating accident in California depends on the circumstances surrounding the accident. If a death occurred within 24 hours, someone disappeared, or there was an injury involved that required care beyond basic first aid, you have two days to report the accident. If a person dies more than 24 hours after the accident, a vessel is lost, or there is property damage exceeding $500, you have 10 days to file a report.

Can You Drink a Beer While Driving a Boat in California?

You cannot drink a beer while driving a boat in California if doing so causes you to become intoxicated or reach a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher. Operating a boat under the influence of alcohol is treated the same way as a DUI and can result in severe penalties. They could include fines of up to $1,000 and a jail term of up to six months. A second conviction within seven years could intensify those penalties.

What Are Boat Operators Required to Do When Involved in an Accident in California?

Boat operators are required to immediately stop their vessel and offer assistance to anyone who has been injured or is in danger when involved in an accident in California. They must exchange contact information, including names, addresses, and vessel registration numbers, with all other parties involved and may need to file a written accident report.

What Is Not a Reason to Report a Boating Accident?

A minor injury that does not require medical treatment beyond first aid is not a reason to report a boating accident in California. Accident reports aren’t mandatory unless someone sustains substantial injuries, someone is killed, or property damage exceeds $500 or the complete loss of a vessel. You can still file a report if these conditions aren’t met, but you’re not required to do so.

Your Santa Ana Boating Accident Lawyer

Getting into a boating accident can be just as scary as getting into a car accident, if not worse. People often sustain substantial injuries and may face the risk of drowning. If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, you can trust a Santa Ana boating accident lawyer to help you hold the liable party accountable.

The team here at Easton & Easton can help. We routinely work with professionals and their families to seek compensation when serious injuries disrupt their careers and financial stability. No matter how complex your boating accident claim is, we can help you determine liability, collect evidence to support your claim, and negotiate a fair settlement with the liable party’s insurance company using our proven process. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation.

Santa Ana, CA Boating Accident Legal Resources

• California Department of Motor Vehicles – Financial Responsibility & Accident Reporting (Form SR-1)
• U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary – Boating Safety Division & Incident Reporting
• California Harbors and Navigation Code – Duties in Event of Collision or Accident (Cal. Harb. & Nav. Code § 656)
• Santa Ana Police Department – Collision Reports & Traffic Division