Fort Lauderdale Boat Accident Lawyer
A day on the water ended with somebody in an ambulance, and whatever they were on has already been trailered away. We can take it from here. Call 954-522-5800 for a free consultation. You pay us nothing unless we win. Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers have taken these cases across Broward County since 1993.
Boat Accident claims in Fort Lauderdale
There is no police report the way there is on a road, and by evening the witnesses have scattered to five different marinas. Meanwhile you are dealing with the injury, the lost work, and an owner whose story is settling into something convenient. Finding those witnesses while they can still be found is our job, and it starts the day you call.
The New River, the Intracoastal and the inlet carry an unusual mix in Broward: private vessels, charters, yacht deliveries, dive and fishing boats and a working marine industry, in channels that are congested and often blind. The legal position differs from a road crash in ways people are not expecting. Nothing on the water pays a medical bill automatically, so treatment runs on health insurance while liability is worked out. Reporting obligations run to the state rather than to a police department, and where a crew member is injured the case may be a Jones Act claim rather than an injury claim at all.
Where your case would be handled
Our office is at 2101 W Commercial Blvd, Suite 1500, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309, and a claim arising here is filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit at the Broward County Courthouse.
The law that decides it
The statutes, deadlines and proof requirements for a boat accident claim are the same anywhere in Florida, so they live once on our florida boat accident lawyer page rather than being restated on every city page. What changes locally is the court, the evidence and who you are dealing with, which is what this page covers.
The lawyers who would handle it
A boat accident claim out of Fort Lauderdale is worked by one of our trial attorneys, from the first call to the last check.
They have been trying Broward County cases together since 1993, and a case filed here goes to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit at the Broward County Courthouse.
Meet the attorneys →Fort Lauderdale boat accident questions
Nobody called the police. Was the boating accident supposed to be reported?
Florida requires the operator to report a boating accident involving death, disappearance, serious injury or significant property damage, and the report goes to the state rather than to a local police department. Where no report was made, the case is built from the vessels themselves, the marina records, the charter paperwork and any witnesses on the water. Those disperse fast, which is the argument for moving quickly.
Does my car insurance cover a boating accident?
Generally not. Florida PIP applies to motor vehicles rather than vessels, so there is usually no automatic no-fault benefit after a boating injury. Your health insurance, any medical payments coverage on a marine policy, and the vessel owner’s liability coverage are the usual sources.
The questions that come up on every kind of claim, deadlines, fees, recorded statements and fault, are answered on our Florida injury claim FAQ.
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Tell us what happened
A lawyer will listen, tell you what Florida law does with those facts, and be straight with you about whether it is worth bringing. We are at 2101 W Commercial Blvd, Suite 1500, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309.