How Common Boat Accident Injuries Impact the Value of Your Case

Boating can be a fun and fulfilling pastime but, unfortunately, can result in the Coast Guard needing to take victims to safety. Boating poses safety risks to passengers and boat operators beyond drowning. Falls, concussions, burns, and fractures are some leading serious personal injuries when boating accidents occur. Each of these types of boat accidents injuries can lead to long-term and permanent damage, depending on the severity. The monetary value of a boating accident case is determined by how much economic and non-economic damages were incurred.

Types of Damages in Boating Accidents

Economic Damages

These costs include things like medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and funeral expenses. Economic damages are fairly straightforward to calculate as they are supported with objective documentation.

Non-Economic Damages

These costs cover the intangible impacts of an accident, such as pain and suffering or disfigurement. Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify, but they can be quite significant in terms of total value.

Examples of Damages from Boating Accidents

For instance, if you suffered a fracture in a boat accident, your total damages could include the cost of medical treatments and any lost wages due to missed work. In addition, you might be eligible for compensation for pain and suffering related to the physical trauma of the injury.

The amount of compensation you are entitled to in a boating accident case will depend upon several factors, including the degree of fault of each party, the severity of your injuries, and any applicable insurance coverage. An experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to evaluate these factors and provide a better estimate of how much your case is worth.

If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, it’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you understand your rights and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact a qualified attorney today to learn more about how injuries from common boating accidents impact the value of your case.

How Settlements and Jury Awards Are Calculated for Boating Accidents

In most cases, the settlement or jury award you receive will be determined by a combination of economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are usually easier to calculate as there are objective costs associated with them. Non-economic damages, however, can be more subjective and difficult to quantify.

Your lawyer will work with experts such as medical professionals and economists to determine the real costs of your injury. This includes considering the impact of both immediate and long-term medical expenses, any lost wages due to time off work, pain and suffering, and other intangible losses related to the accident.

Your lawyer will also consider factors such as fault or how much each party was responsible for the accident. The more legally responsible the other party is for your injuries, the higher your settlement or jury award could be. Your attorney will also evaluate any insurance coverage available from the boat owner or boat operator to help compensate you and will work with you to pursue a fair settlement amount.

Factors Jurors Take Into Account for Serious Injuries

If necessary, your lawyer may file a lawsuit and take the case to court. At trial, the jury will consider all factors and decide on an award amount for your boating accident injuries. Jurors tend to award damages for personal injuries by evaluating the following factors:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of a normal life/loss of enjoyment of life
• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Scarring and disfigurement

If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, it’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help evaluate your case and get you the compensation you deserve. Contact a qualified attorney today to learn more about how common boat accident injuries impact the value of your case.

Concussion and Muscle Soreness

Head injuries or a traumatic brain injury are typically the most severe type of personal injuries associated with a boating accident. Boat passengers are usually unrestrained. As a result, boating collisions, such as striking breakwalls, sandbars, or even other boats, can throw passengers from their seats, causing blunt force injuries to their head and neck.

Depending on the severity, head injuries can lead to long-term cognitive and physical impairments that require extensive medical treatment. These types of injuries usually result in higher damages awards due to long-term care costs.

Example of Concussion and Neck Pain Award

If you experienced a similar accident, you may need immediate medical attention. When you arrive in the emergency room, your doctor orders an MRI that reveals a concussion. You are given prescription painkillers and are told to stay off your feet for a couple days. The next morning, you are experiencing neck soreness in addition to a splitting headache, so you schedule an appointment with your primary care physician. She recommends a few weeks of chiropractic care, which helps you make a full recovery.

Jurors will award you for your past pain and suffering as a result of your concussion and neck pain. They will also compensate you for your medical treatment, including the MRI and chiropractic care. If you missed any work, you will also receive compensation for lost wages. Your award for future pain and suffering, if any, will be limited since you made a full recovery and do not require any more treatment.

Burns

Boat fires may arise due to fuel leaks, maintenance errors, electrical short circuits, or drunk boating. Burn injuries are physically and psychologically traumatizing and can require skin graft surgeries and months of rehabilitation to heal. Even after treatment, victims may experience lingering pain or other sensations at their wound sites as well as permanent scarring. Depending on the severity, these scars may affect victims’ joint mobility.

Example of a Burn Injury Award

Jurors tend to award large damages for burn victims because the injuries are readily visible and because the injuries are relatable. Most people have suffered some sort of burn in their lifetime. In addition to the plaintiff’s past and future pain and suffering, jurors will award damages for loss of a normal life since the plaintiff missed out on everyday life events during their recovery period.

For more severe injuries that are permanent, the plaintiff or injury victim will be awarded for future loss of a normal life as well. The plaintiff will also be compensated for medical bills associated with their treatment as well as lost wages. Burn victims also usually receive large awards for scarring and disfigurement as their injuries are acutely visible and emotionally traumatizing.

Don’t Hesitate to Call

As a burn victim, it’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help evaluate your case and get you the compensation you deserve. Contact a boat accident lawyer today to learn more about how common boat accident injuries impact the value of your case.

Oxygen Deprivation Injuries

These serious injuries usually occur when victims are thrown from the boat in an accident and are knocked unconscious. As a result, they are immersed in water and unable to breathe until someone rescues them. Depending on how long they are underwater, victims begin to suffer brain damage from lack of oxygen, which can be fatal. Survivors oftentimes suffer permanent, severe brain injuries.

These injuries are traumatizing for both the victim and their loved ones. Injuries can include paralysis, spasticity, or vegetative states. Victims may also suffer from severe cognitive injuries that affect emotions, memory, and reasoning. Victims often require lifelong care form caregivers, regular medical attention and occupational therapy, and expensive medical devices such as electric wheelchairs. Their spouse may file their own lawsuit for “loss of consortium,” which is the loss of the love and affection they got from their spouse before the accident.

Example of a Drowning-Related Award

Jurors often show their humanity and award very large damages for severe brain injuries, including for the pain and suffering, loss of a normal life, and 24/7 care needed for victims. It is not unusual for damages involving injuries such as these to approach tens of millions of dollars or more. To assist with quantifying victims’ damages, your law firm may hire economists, doctors, and life care planners to demonstrate the emotional, physical, and financial toll these injuries exact on victims.

Contact Us As Soon As Possible

No two cases are the same, so it’s important to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible if you or your loved one has been injured in a boating accident. Your lawyer can evaluate your case, negotiate with the insurance companies for a full and fair boat accident settlement, and get you the compensation you deserve for your boat accident claim.

How to Find out What Your Boating Injury Case Is Worth

The value of your boat accident injury case will depend on the severity of your injuries and associated costs. This includes medical bills, lost wages, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, scarring or disfigurement caused by the accident, among other damages. Your lawyer can explain how common types of injuries impact the value of your case and help you understand what you may be entitled to.

How We Can Maximize Your Case

An experienced personal injury attorney will also be able to bring in experts such as medical and economic professionals to further evaluate your damages. This can help build a strong case for your claim and maximize the value of your settlement or verdict. Ultimately, it is important to speak with an attorney who has experience with boating laws and handling boating injury claims so that you can get the best possible outcome for your case.

Call for a Free Case Evaluation

If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, call The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers today to learn more about how common types of boat accident injuries impact the value of your case. With our help, you can pursue just compensation for your losses and hold the at-fault party accountable. We look forward to serving you. Contact us today for a free consultation.