Maryland Accident Law Blog

The Maryland Natural Resources Police have charged Milton Owings, a Glen Burnie resident, with the negligent operation of a vessel after the boat he was operating capsized.

Two of his passengers fell into the water. One victim, a 17-year-old boy, had to be flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where he received treatment for a foot injury.

The boating accident occurred on Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Inlet. According to the NRP, Owings should have exercised greater caution due to the rough ocean conditions.

Boat operators and owners are required to exercise certain duties of care when operating a vessel. If a boat owner or operator acts negligently or recklessly and someone is injured, the responsible party can be sued for personal injury or wrongful death.

2004 boating accident statistics from the US Coast Guard:

• 4,904 recreational boating accidents in the US
• 3,363 injuries
• 676 deaths
• $35 million plus in property damage

Causes of these boating accidents included:

• Operator inexperience
• Operator inattention
• Speeding
• Reckless driving

Capsizing and falls overboard are the leading cause of boating-related deaths.

In Maryland, our boating accident lawyers are familiar with the state, county, and city laws that govern boating accidents, and we can help you determine whether you have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim. If you have been injured in a boating accident, do NOT speak with representatives for any other parties that were involved in the collision until you contact an experienced Maryland boat crash law firm first.

Md. police charge boater in ocean mishap, Delaware Online.com, July 16, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

US Coast Guard

Continue reading "Glen Burnie Man Charged with Negligent Vehicle Operation After One Passenger is Seriously Injured When Boat Capsizes" »

In Baltimore County Circuit Court last week, William C. Spittel was sentenced to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine after he pled guilty to one count of negligent manslaughter by vessel. Spittel was the operator of a 24-foot motorboat that struck a channel marker in the Pleasure Island Cut, close to where the Chesapeake Bay and the Back River meet.

Spittel and his two passengers were thrown from the boat. While he and one of the passengers were rescued, Ellicott resident Michael D. Schott did not survive the boating collision.

The US Coast Guard says that there were 710 boating deaths in 2006 and 3,474 injuries. Causes of injuries and deaths included drowning accidents, operator inattention, recklessness, carelessness, speeding, machinery failure, no proper lookout, and alcohol use, which was the leading cause of deadly boating accidents.

The top five kinds of boating accidents in 2006 included collision with another vessel, collision with a fixed object, skier accidents, falls overboard, and capsized vessels. In Maryland, boating accident victims and their loved ones have the right to file personal injury/wrongful death claims and lawsuits against a negligent boat operator or another liable party.

Our Maryland boating crash law firm represents clients injured on private boats, cruise ships, jet skis, ferries, or any other kinds of vessels. We know how to properly investigate and pursue your case so that you can receive your financial recovery.

If your boating accident was caused by a defect in the boat, one of our Maryland boating products liability lawyers can investigate the defect and file a defective products claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer.

Man admits role in fatal boat accident, Baltimore Sun, June 6, 2008

2006 Boating Statistics

Related Web Resource:

Boating in Maryland

Continue reading "Carney Man Pleads Guilty To Negligent Manslaughter in 2007 Maryland Boating Accident that Killed an Ellicott Man" »

Michael Douglas Schott, 33, an Ellicott City man, died of head injuries and drowning after he was thrown from a large (24-foot) motorized boat on Back River near the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore County last weekend.

Maryland Natural Resources Police say that Schott fell off the boat when it hit a big metal channel marker that had been driven into the ground.

Boat owner/driver William Charles Spittel and Jason Joseph Bard were also thrown from the boat.

Spittel was treated for his concussion in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, while Bard was released at the accident scene.

The CDC offers the following drowning-related statistics:

• 3,308 unintentional fatal drownings took place in the U.S. in 2004.
• 676 fatalities of drowning involved other causes, such as boating-related accidents.

Common causes of head injuries include car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, falls, physical assault, skating accidents, bicycle accidents, and skateboarding accidents.

There are different kinds of trauma that can occur to the head. There is the penetrating trauma, where a sharp object enters the skull and possibly causes brain damage or death. There is the blunt head trauma that occurs from a direct blow to the head.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a boating accident that you believe was caused by someone’s negligence, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer right away who can help determine whether you have a boating accident claim on your hands. A personal injury attorney can also help you if you have sustained a head injury caused by another person's careless or negligent behavior.

The CDC also names the following risk factors that often lead to water-related injuries:

• Lack of supervision and barriers (such as pool fencing).
• Recreation in natural water settings (such as lakes, rivers, or the ocean). • Recreational boating. Boating carries risks for injury. • Alcohol use. Alcohol use is involved in about 25% to 50% of adolescent and adult deaths associated with water recreation (Howland et al. 1995; Howland and Hingson 1988)
• Seizure disorders. For persons with seizure disorders, drowning is the most common cause of unintentional injury death, with the bathtub as the site of highest drowning risk (Quan et al. 2006).

Boating Accident Claims Life of Ellicott City Man, Howard County Times, August 9, 2007

Water-Related Injuries: Fact Sheet, CDC.gov

Head Injury Causes, Emedicinehealth.com

Related Web Resource:

Boating in Maryland

Continue reading "Ellicott City Man Dies in Maryland in Boating Accident in Baltimore County " »

A 30-year-old man was critically injured on the Elk River in Cicel County, Maryland, after the Jet Ski-type watercraft he was riding collided with a 42-foot-long, high performance boat. Christopher J. Leight, 30, was treated in Baltimore at the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center for his injuries where he is still in critical condition.

Leight’s cousin, 21-year-old Kristy L. Szewczak who was also involved in the boating accident, died from her injuries.

Maryland Police are investigating the crash. The driver and passengers on the boat did not sustain any injuries.

Maryland has a number of safety regulations for passengers riding personal watercrafts:

YOU MUST...
• Be at least 16 years of age to operate.
• Wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket.
• Carry a certificate of boater safety education if born on or after July 1, 1972.
• Maintain 6 knots or slower within 100 feet of another PWC, vessel, shore, pier, piling, bridge structure, abutment or people in the water
• Have PWC equipped with an operating self-circling device or kill switch.

YOU MAY NOT...
• Operate above idle speed in water less than 18 inches in depth
• Operate between sunset and sunrise.
• Jump, or attempt jumping, the wake of another vessel within 100 feet of that vessel.
• Operate within 300 feet of people in the water or surf fishing activities in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Disturb waterfowl and wildlife.
• Operate in a reckless and/or negligent manner.

Maryland Natural Resources police say that 50 of the 163 boating accidents that occured on Maryland's waters involved personal watercrafts. At least one person was injured in each of these accidents.

Even if you abide by these safety regulations, injuries and accidents can still occur.

Boating accident leaves man critical, Phillyburbs.com, July 26, 2007

Jet Ski Accidents Common on Md. Waters, WBOC.com, July 3, 2007

Personal Watercraft Safety (PWC), Boating in Maryland

Related Web Resource:

Accident Statistics, U.S. Coast Guard

Continue reading "Maryland Natural Resources Police Says Boating Accident Critically Injures One Man And Kills His Cousin" »

As the boating season begins, Maryland Natural Resources Police have their eyes on Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, and Sandy Point State Park in Anne Arundel County as three areas where the largest number of boating accidents have been known to occur.

In 2006, boating police implemented state trooper strategies in these “big three” areas and succeeded in reducing the number of boating accidents in all three places. They plan to implement the same strategies this year.

Strategies from last year included using helicopter patrols to survey the areas, radio warnings to boats patrolling the areas, checkpoints for testing boat drivers for driving under the influence, and visits to personal watercraft rental shop areas to make sure renters obeyed state laws.

In Ocean City, personal watercrafts are the number #1 problem in Ocean City’s waters, according to the Maryland NRP. In 2005, there were 29 boating accidents in the area, and nearly half of the boats involved were personal watercrafts. More than 50% of these vessels were privately owned and driven by individuals 16-21 years of age who weren’t certified in boater safety.

The U.S. Coast Guard offers a number of boating statistics for 2005, including the following:

• There were 4,969 boating accidents in 2005
• 697 of these accidents resulted in deaths
• 3,451 accidents resulted in injuries
• Over $38 million in property was damaged in these accidents
• The most commonly reported kind of accident involved one boat colliding with another vessel
• Falls overboard and boats capsizing make up 59% of all boating deaths
• Leading contributing factors of all accidents that were reported include operator inattention, carelessness/reckless operation, operator inexperience, and excessive speed
• Alcohol either directly or indirectly contributed to about 25% of all boating deaths

Continue reading "Maryland Natural Resources Police Says Ocean City Ranks as One of Three Areas to Watch for Boat Crashes" »

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police say that a 16-year-old Elkton boy was critically injured last week after the tube that he was being towed in hit the floating pier at 55 Knollwood Road on the Elk River. Susan Archibald was operating the personal watercraft (PWC) that was towing the tube on Tuesday, September 12. The teenager was taken to Maryland Trauma Shock Center where he was treated for injuries. The NRP are investigating the incident and deciding whether to press charges.

According to the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation’s website:

· 12,290 people were treated in emergency rooms due to PWC-related injuries.

· 22% of people who sustained PWC-related injuries in the US in 1997 were minors.

Common Types of PWC-related nonfatal injuries: head injuries, leg injuries, and lower trunk injuries.

Boatersworld.com offers the following safety tips for anyone who plans to go tubing:

· Read the tube’s warning indicators: know the maximum weight it can carry, how many riders it can hold, and how fast it can go.

· Know how to ride the tube correctly.

· Wear a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (PFD).

· Make sure the tube is securely tied to the boat.

· Make sure the driver of the boat knows how to safely tow the tube.

As a general rule of law a boat operator and its owner must exercise the highest degree of care to prevent injuries to those passengers in the boat or swimmers or others in the waters or boats around them. If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one due to a boating accident, please contact the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen by e-mail or call toll-free at 1-888-311-HURT (4878) for a free, no obligation consultation.

Tube Hits Pier, Boat Critically Hurt, Delaware Online.com, September 13, 2006

Maryland Natural Resources Police Respond To A Tubing Accident, Maryland Dept. Of Natural Resources

Tubing Tips, Boatersworld.com

Personal Watercraft: Factsheet, Marshfield Clinic

Related Web Resources:

Tubing And Rafting Safety, American Red Cross

Maryland Boating Safety Program

In Maryland yesterday, diving teams recovered the body of a man who had been killed while participating in a boat race on September 3.

Maryland Natural Resources Police say Paul Henry Sohn had been racing his boat the Jumpin’ Jack Flash in the yearly Ragin’ On the River Powerboat Race on Sunday, when the boat split in half after bouncing off another boat’s wake and launching into the air. His body, recovered at the bottom of the Susquehanna River, was still strapped to the boat. Sohn’s son, 15-year-old Timothy John Sohn, who had also been on the boat at the time of the accident, was able to escape uninjured.

Volunteer dive teams from Hartford, Cecil, and Baltimore counties joined DNR dive teams and emergency crews from the powerboat association to look for Sohn.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, some causes for boating accidents are:

· Operator inattention.
· Faulty equipment.
· Environmental factors.
· Excessive speed.
· Alcohol and drugs.
· Not wearing a life jacket.
· Passenger behavior.

The following boating-related statistics can be found on the Allstate.com website.

Total accidents:

· Open motorboats represent 39% of all reported vessels involved in a boating accident each year, and 47% of those accidents are collisions.
· Personal watercraft (PWCs) represent 30% of all reported vessels involved in a boating accident each year, and 77% of those accidents are collisions. Some PWC collisions involve swimmers and skiers.

Injuries:

· 45% of all boating injuries take place on open motorboats.
· 36% of all boating injuries take place on PWCs.
· Lacerations, broken bones, contusions, and head injuries are the most common injuries on these types of vessels.

Fatalities:

· 51% of fatalities take place on open motorboats, and 54% of those fatalities are drownings.
· 10% of boating fatalities take place on PWCs, and 5% of those fatalities are drownings.

Personal flotation device (PFD) usage:

· PWC users are doing well in terms of reported PFD usage at 91%. Contrast this with open motorboat usage of PFDs reported to be only 20%.
· Since PWC users are required by law to wear a PFD, this may explain why they have a better PFD user rate than motorboat operators. This may also account for the smaller percentage of PWC users who drown: 5% for PWCs compared with a 54% for open motorboats.

Motorboat and PWC risks:

· At 51%, motorboat users have a higher fatality rate than any other vessel on the water.
At 77%, PWC users have a higher collision rate than any other vessel on the water.

If you've have suffered an injury or lost a loved one to a boating accident, please contact Jack Lebowitz or Vadim Mzhen, by e-mail or toll-free at 1-888-311-HURT (4878) for a free, no obligation consultation. They are experienced personal injury attorneys who can assist you.

Divers Find Body Of Man Killed In Boat Race Crash, ABC2news.com, September 6, 2006

River Is Searched For Racer, Baltimoresun.com, September 5, 2006

Boat Insurance, Allstate.com

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Department Of Natural Resources

United States Coast Guard

Boating Safety Institute Of America

In Anne Arundel County, the body of an Arlington man was pulled from the Severn River on Sunday night. Daniel Pemsler, 24, was killed in a boating accident this weekend. Maryland Natural Resources say that Permsler had just let go of a tube he had been riding and was waiting in the water to get picked up by a boat when he was hit and killed by another boat.

Some Safety Tips To Consider When Swimming In A Natural Body Of Water:

- Never swim alone.
- Be aware of broken bottles and trash that may be floating around.
- Always wear a life jacket (helps you stay afloat and makes you more visible to nearby vessels).
- Don’t swim out too far.
- Never pretend to drown.
- Don’t swim too close to piers.
- Leave alcohol-use behind.

Some Statistics About Boating-Related Accidents (provided by the CDC):
- In 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard received reports of 4,904 boating incidents; 3,363 participants were reported injured and 676 dead in boating incidents.
- The number of drownings attributed to boating mishaps declined from 82% in 1990 to 70% (484 out of 676) in 2004. The remaining boating fatalities were due to trauma, hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other causes.
- It is estimated that 431 lives could have been saved in 2004 if all boaters had worn life jackets.
- Alcohol involvement was a contributing factor in about one-third of all reported boating deaths.
- Open motorboats (boats of open construction that are specifically built for operating with a motor, including boats canopied or fitted with temporary partial shelters) were involved in 42% of all reported incidents and personal watercraft were involved in another 25%.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a boating-related accident, a personal injury lawyer can tell you whether you are eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit. Contact the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen for more information.

Arlington Man Killed In Boating Accident, WTOP.com, July 24, 2006
Swimming, Kidshealth.org
National Boating Safety, National Center For Injury Prevention and Control

Related Web Resources:
Safety Tips, National Water Safety Program
Maryland Department Of Natural Resources

The Maryland Natural Resources Police have had to turn their attention to local waters where a number of boating accidents have recently taken place.

On June 18, In St. Clement Bay near St. Clement Shores, a 10-year-old boy was injured in the head when an 18-foot boat hit a pound net. The child was flown to Washington DC and treated at the Children's Hospital National Medical Center.

Just one day earlier, the NRP recovered the bodies of two men from the Potomac River. They had died in a boating accident on June 16. Their boat had been found without anyone on board just south of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge. A third person who survived the accident was taken to a hospital for treatment. The NRP is investigating the cause of the accident.

3 people were also injured on June 19 in Neale Sound near Cobb Island when the 18-foot boat they were riding in hit a metal speed zone sign. Maryland State Police MEDAVAC flew two of the men to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda and one man to Prince George's Hospital Center.

As a general rule of law, a boat operator and its owner must exercise the highest degree of care to prevent injuries to passengers in the boat or swimmers or others in the waters or boats around them. A person who has suffered a personal injury or lost a loved one because of a boating accident or collision may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Some Boating Safety Tips Consider:
*Make sure your boat is in top operating condition.
*To anchor, bring the bow into the wind and make sure the engine is in neutral.
*Close all openings on the boat before fueling.
*Check weather reports and continue to monitor the weather once you have left shore.
*Make sure someone who is not on the boat with you knows where you are, when you plan to
be back, and has a full description of the vessel that you are riding.

NRP Investigate Local Boating Accidents, Southern Maryland Online, June 22, 2006

Boating Safety And Survival Tips

Related Web Resources:
Maryland Natural Resources Police

Boating Safety Course

As the boating season begins on Maryland’s waters this year, Maryland National Resources Police (NRP) have been working hard to educate people on practicing boating safety. Over Memorial Weekend, more than 16,000 boaters were checked by the NRP who issued 504 citations and 1846 warnings. They also held a National Boating Safety Week last month to promote safety precautions on a boat.

More than a dozen people die in Maryland each year due to boating-related accidents. In 2005, 14 people died and over 128 people were injured while riding a boat.

Nationally, in 2002, there were almost 6,000 boating accidents that led to 750 fatalities, over 4000 injuries, and over 39 million dollars in property damages.

The most common types of boats involved in boating accident/injury cases:
· Open motorboats
· Personal watercrafts
· Cabin motorboats

Some Causes For Boating Accidents:
· Capsizing
· Falls Overboard
· Collisions
· Sinking/Flooding
· Explosions
· Disappearance
· Fire

A boating accident must be reported if:
· A life is lost due to the accident
· Someone is injured and requires medical attention beyond first aid
· There is damage by or to the vessel and other property
· Any person on board a vessel disappears (under circumstances indicating possible death or injury)

The Maryland National Resources Police has made the following recommendations to ensure boating safety on Maryland’s waters:

· Wear an approved and properly fitted personal flotation device (PFD) at all times while aboard.
· Know and obey navigation rules, operate your boat at a safe speed and maintain a proper lookout.
· Stay in control of your vessel and respect the rights of others.
· Ensure that your boat is never overloaded.
· Leave a float plan with someone at home describing where you are going, who you are with, and when you expect to return.
· Remain sober and alert-remember the use of alcohol contributes to accidents on the water.

Driver,Boater Checks Fill Holiday, Delmarvanow.com, May 31, 2006
Maryland Natural Resources Police Kick Off Safe Boating Week, Southern Maryland Online
Maryland Natural Resources Police Remind Boaters To Be Safe The Holiday Weekend, Maryland Department Of Natural Resources
Boating Accidents, BoatingAccidentAttorneys.com
Boating Accident Injury, Onlinelawyersource.com

Related Web Resources:
Maryland Boating Safety Program, Boating In Maryland
Recreational Boating Accident Report Database, Bureau Of Transportation Statistics