What Is A Boating Accident?

Any injury that occurs on or with a boat is considered a boating accident. A boating accident can occur on someone's privately owned boat, a cruise ship, a personal watercraft (jet ski), or a ferry. It is a general rule of law that the operator of a boat and its owner have a duty to exercise the highest degree of care in order to prevent injuries to others.

The most common boating accidents are collisions with other boats, slip and falls on the boat, sinking, and boat disappearance. Boating injuries usually occur because of a reckless or careless operator, boat malfunction, or an inexperienced operator.

Private Boat And Personal Watercraft

Personal watercrafts and private boats are involved in numerous accidents in the State of Kentucky. Private boats are usually classified as any non-commercial boat that is motor powered and designed to carry two or more people. Personal watercrafts are jet-skies, wave-runners, and sea-doos. The operator of a personal watercraft or private boat has a duty to exercise the highest degree of care to prevent personal injuries to others. A majority of personal watercraft accidents occur when another boat crashes into the operator of the personal watercraft or the owner of a personal watercraft fails to properly supervise the operator of his or her watercraft.