If you’ve been injured in a Michigan boating accident — as an operator, passenger, or swimmer — finding an attorney is essential in recovering the compensation you deserve.
The most common types of boating accidents — or watercraft accidents (including jet skis, sailboats, canoes, kayaks, and pontoon boats) — are collisions with other watercraft, collisions with fixed objects (e.g. docks, channel markers, and related buoy devices), and grounding.
These accidents are usually caused by one or more of the following factors: operator inattention, boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, operator inexperience, careless/reckless operation, excessive speed, passenger behavior, skier behavior, and bad weather.
To recover damages for injuries sustained in a boating/watercraft accident, you and your attorney will need to identify the liable parties and then prove that negligence occurred. Doing that successfully requires the gathering of evidence, as well as litigation skills.
Cochran, Kroll & Associates P.C. is a personal injury law firm serving individuals and families who have been injured in an accident — whether it’s a boating accident, car accident, medical malpractice, or other personal injury situation caused by someone else’s negligence.
Meeting your burden of proof in a personal injury lawsuit means you must work with your attorney to assemble any available photographic evidence of the accident, secure the incident report from the Coast Guard or other local official(s), identify witnesses for interviewing, as well as all the medical documentation about your injury and its treatment.
An attorney from Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. can meet with you at your convenience, at a time and place that is most comfortable for you — including your home or hospital room. After this free consultation, if we decide to work together, it will be on a contingency fee agreement.
Getting legal help as soon after the accident as possible makes evidence gathering easier and more effective in putting together a case because the accident will still be fresh in people’s minds.
If you are seriously injured by a boater who has acted negligently, you have the right to work with a personal injury lawyer and pursue a lawsuit to recover damages. These damages include your medical bills, your lost earnings, your lost earning capacity, and other damages.
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim for a boating accident is the same as for other types of personal injury accident cases: three years from the date of the accident.
Contact us toll-free today (24 hours) at 866-466-9912 or use our convenient online contact form.
We look forward to meeting you, learning more about your accident, your injuries, and working with you to achieve resolution.