Long Island Boat Accident Lawyers
When you head out for a day on the water, the last thing you expect is to be hurt in a boat accident. Unfortunately, boat accidents are far too common in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens Counties. If another person caused your boat crash, you could file a lawsuit for your injuries.
Through a personal injury claim, you can recover financial compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage, and other losses. Our experienced Long Island boat accident attorneys will help you get the money that you deserve. With experience in both personal injury and maritime law, we have the knowledge and skills that you need to represent your best interests.
Based in Melville, The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers advocates for injury victims throughout Long Island. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Contact our law offices today to schedule an appointment with a Long Island personal injury lawyer.
Trust Your Case to Our Firm
Boating accidents are among the most traumatizing accidents one can experience. All too often one is thrown overboard, and when this happens, even minor injuries become life-threatening due to the threat of drowning and exposure to dangers in the water.
All the following types of boat accidents can result in significant injuries:
- Collisions
- Sinking
- Flooding
- Explosions
- Fires
Although boating is a popular pastime, it is not always safe if there is negligence. Boats can be poorly maintained, badly designed, and overloaded. The captains and passengers can be impaired and reckless in their behavior. Crew can be under trained or unfit for the responsibilities they are given. If you or a loved one has been injured in a boating accident, it is imperative to retain the services of a Long Island boat accident lawyer who has experience in this area of law and can help you recover damages for the injuries suffered.
Contact The Odierno Law Firm, P.C. today!
Proving Fault in a Long Island Boating Accident Case
There are many potential causes of boat accidents, such as operator inexperience or lack of education, intoxication, equipment failures, reckless driving, and inattention. Depending on the cause of the crash, you might be able to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party (defendant). The key will be proving that the defendant was responsible in some way.
As the accident victim (plaintiff), you will have the burden of proving that the at-fault party (defendant) acted negligently, recklessly, or intentionally in causing the crash. Most boat accident cases are based on a theory of negligence or carelessness. To prove that the defendant was negligent, you will need to introduce evidence of four things:
- Duty: the defendant owed you a duty to use reasonable care and follow safe boating practices
- Breach: the defendant violated that duty in some way (such as by speeding)
- Causation: this violation was the direct cause of the boat accident
- Damages: you suffered losses as a result
It is also possible to bring a boat accident claim based on intentional or reckless behavior. For example, if another boater was operating their vessel while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs – which is a crime in New York – when they crashed into your boat, you could still file a personal injury lawsuit against them. This civil case may be in addition to any criminal charges that a prosecutor may pursue.
Our team of experienced Long Island boat accident attorneys understands how to build a strong claim for compensation. We will request accident reports from the appropriate authorities, view photos and videos of the accident scene, and interview witnesses. We will also analyze your medical records and research New York law to build the strongest possible case for compensation.
Once our investigation is complete, we will draft a demand letter to the defendant’s insurance company. This demand letter will contain three parts – a description of the facts of the case, the legal reasons why their insured was at fault, and a demand for damages (compensation). This is usually the step that is taken before a formal lawsuit is filed.
Insurance companies will perform their own investigation. They may respond with a settlement offer, which is almost always a fraction of what you requested through the demand letter. Our lawyers are skilled negotiators. We will fight to get you a settlement that truly reflects your losses. If the insurance company refuses to give you the money that you deserve for your injuries, we will file a lawsuit to protect your rights.
Filing a lawsuit does not mean that your case will go to trial. Instead, it allows us to learn more about the case and to continue negotiations. In many situations, when faced with the choice between going to trial against our Long Island boat accident lawyers or offering a fair settlement, the insurance company will decide that a settlement is in their best interests.
If you want to get maximum compensation for your boat accident injuries, then hiring The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers is your best option. We will use our decades of experience in both New York personal injury law and maritime law to get you the money that you deserve.Â
What Is My Long Island Boat Accident Claim Worth?
In any personal injury case, you might be able to recover financial compensation for all of your injuries. The value of your claim will depend on several factors, including the severity of your injuries, whether liability is clear, and the amount of insurance coverage that the at-fault party had. Typically, if you had minor injuries in a boat accident, then your settlement will be for less money than a person in the same crash who suffered a catastrophic injury that left them permanently disabled.
There are three potential categories of damages in a Long Island boat accident lawsuit: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Together, economic and non-economic damages are considered compensatory damages because they pay an accident victim for their injuries. Punitive damages are available in more unusual cases (such as a drunk boating accident) where the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly.
Economic damages pay for direct financial losses after an accident. In a boat crash case, this may include money for medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. These damages are often the easiest to prove with documentation like invoices, estimates, and pay stubs.Â
Non-economic damages pay for your indirect losses. They can be harder to prove because you rarely will get a bill in the mail for something like the emotional harm that you suffered in the aftermath of a boat accident. Non-economic damages include things like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, scarring, and disfigurement.
Insurance companies often try to downplay non-economic damages to reduce the amount that they pay out on a boat accident claim. But emotional injuries are just as real as physical ones – and just as deserving of compensation. For example, if you can no longer enjoy boating because of the trauma of the accident, you should be compensated for that loss.
Punitive damages are also available in cases where the at-fault party acted intentionally or recklessly. The purpose of these damages is to punish a wrongdoer instead of compensating a victim. Our experienced Long Island boat accident attorneys will help you understand your right to punitive damages based on the facts of your case.
Sadly, boat accidents can also cause fatal injuries. If your family member died in a Long Island boat crash, you might be able to file a wrongful death claim against the responsible party. With a wrongful death action, you can recover money for funeral and burial expenses, medical bills, loss of companionship, loss of support, and other damages.
Studies show that people who are represented by legal counsel recover significantly more money in personal injury claims compared to people who represent themselves. If you have been hurt in a Long Island boat accident, don’t just accept the insurance company’s lowball settlement offer. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule a free consultation.
Decades of Experience: Serving Long Island (Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens)
Our legal team is experienced with maritime law – the laws that pertain to boating accidents that occur in a body of water. Whether the accident occurred in a lake, river, channel or along our coastal waterways, maritime law needs to be consulted to determine how to proceed with your case. Whether you or your loved one is the only person injured or if several or many people suffered injuries, the injury attorneys at The Odierno Law Firm, P.C. can handle the case.
We have more than 150 years of combined experience working with victims and their families in order to help them recover damages after an accident. Serious injuries are immensely expensive, and when there is a significant amount of rehabilitation required, the expenses can go on for years or even a lifetime.
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Without compensation, they could leave you and your family impoverished. You should call an attorney from our office as soon as possible, as the details of the accident and the accounts of any witnesses are crucial and need to be assembled quickly after the accident. We will analyze all the evidence and factors present in your case and assemble a claim that will help you recover the full amount of damages you are entitled to under New York personal injury and maritime law. We care about your rights, your health, and your future, and we never charge you a dime unless we win or settle your case.
At The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers, we are dedicated to helping our clients get maximum compensation for their losses. We will fight to protect your rights and get you the money that you deserve for your boat accident injuries.Â
To schedule a free initial evaluation, contact our firm today.
Dedicated To You
We are committed to getting you the compensation you deserve for the injuries you have sustained. We are determined to fight for you. We have a no recovery, no fee policy, so you don’t pay unless we win.
Why Us?
You Will Not Pay Us Unless We Win Your Case- Our Firm is Backed By Trial Success & Client Satisfaction
- We Will Review Your Personal Injury Claim For Free
- We Have Over 150 Years of Combined Legal Experience
You Will Not Pay Us Unless We Win Your Case