Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog
This Central New York Boating season (one of the best in recent history!) is drawing to an end, but not without more Central New York boating accidents. The most recent Central New York boat crash involved three boaters who were injured when their boat crashed into the Oswego Harbor breakwater, near the Oswego Lighthouse Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Although the damage done to the boat and to the wall indicates a high rate of speed, miraculously the worst injury appears to be a broken arm. All three boaters were taken to Oswego Hospital.
Police investigators believe alcohol consumption played a role in the crash. From my experience as a New York boating accident lawyer, I can tell you this is not unusual. Statistics bear me out: U.S. Coast Guard records indicate that MOST recreational boating fatalities involve alcohol! The same statistics indicate that a boat operator with blood alcohol level above .10 is ten times more likely to be killed in a boating accident than a boater who has consumed no alcohol. Experts say that the mixture of sun, wind, boat motion, wind and noise amplifies the effects of alcohol. To make matters worse, for some reason people who would never drink while driving a car feel it is perfectly fine to drink, and even drink heavily, while boating.
Boating deaths are second only to car accident deaths in transportation-related fatalities in the United States. More people die in boating accidents than die in airplane, train wrecks, or bus accidents.
Don’t drink and drive a boat. Don’t go boating with anyone who drinks and drives a boat. Have a safe boating experience. Make sure you have a designated boat operator!
By the way, the injured passengers in this boating accident probably have a valid New York boating accident lawsuit against the boat operator. Even if the operator was not drinking (which apparently he was), a boat operator has a duty to see obvious dangers such as a breakwater, and to slow down and avoid collisions with them. Here, whether due to alcohol consumption or just plain inattentiveness (it was still daylight!), this boat operator just “missed the boat”.