Utah Boat Accident Lawyer
Boating accidents can result in serious injuries with significant financial, physical, and emotional consequences. Maritime laws are complex, and it can be difficult to determine how to seek compensation when someone else caused your harm.
You don’t have to go it alone. At Feller & Wendt, LLC™, we have a team of Utah boating accident lawyers ready to assist accident victims in seeking justice and compensation.
Why Work With Our Utah Boat Accident Lawyers
Our boat accident team has an in-depth knowledge of Utah’s unique boating laws and common accident locations. We have significant experience with cases involving Utah’s lakes and rivers, not just generic boating incidents. We understand the jurisdictional complexities of these cases, Utah-specific reporting requirements, and how Utah’s laws affect your claim.
Our award-winning legal team has an in-depth understanding of how insurance companies operate and how to resolve cases before court. We have a 99 percent success rate, with 85 percent settling before filing a legal claim and less than 5 percent going to a jury.
We genuinely care about the communities we serve. Our leaders intentionally keep us a mid-size firm because clients are not just case numbers. Each deserves personalized representation, and we are proud when client testimonials praise our commitment and ability to impact people’s lives.
Our firm has a history of successful case results in personal injury claims, including those for boating, motorcycle, and car accidents. It is never easy to file a claim against someone else. But you and your family don’t have to shoulder the financial, physical, and emotional hardships that someone else’s actions caused without receiving fair compensation for your damages and losses.
Boat Accident Laws in Utah
Understanding boating laws and regulations can help you identify at-fault parties in accidents. You must prove another party’s fault to collect damages in a civil suit, and failing to follow the law is evidence of negligence.
Key Utah boating rules include:
- Motorboat passing protocol, such as the rear boat maintaining 150 feet of distance from the other boat
- Head-to-head meeting rules, in which each boater must change their course to the right
- Navigating as far to the right of the middle of a narrow channel as safely possible, maintaining wakeless speed if less than 150 feet from another boat.
- Maintaining a wakeless speed near swimmers, skiers, and ramps
- On rivers, boats heading downstream generally have the right of way over boats going upstream
You may also be held liable for your boating accident. Under Utah’s modified comparative negligence law, you must be less than 50 percent responsible for the accident to recover damages. If you are eligible for compensation, your percentage of liability reduces your damages by the same amount.
Determining Accident Liability
Another factor in determining boating accident liability in Utah is whether the involved parties completed the state’s mandatory education courses. It has a mandatory youth certification for personal watercraft for those ages 12 to 17. The state also requires residents and non-residents to complete the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Aquatic Invasive Species Education Course.
Failure to complete the required courses affects liability determinations, as do other factors, including:
- Compliance with boating rules and regulations, including the Utah State Boating Act
- Alcohol or drug impairment
- Safety precaution adherence
- Equipment maintenance and functionality
If defective parts contributed to your boating accident, you may also have a claim against a boat or parts manufacturer. Speak with our experienced personal injury lawyers about how liability affects your case and who may be responsible for your damages.
Clients Testimonials
Available Compensation After a Boat Accident
Utah requires boat registration and mandatory liability insurance of $25,000 for injury or death of one person and $50,000 for two or more people. The policy must also include $15,000 in property damage coverage. However, these minimum levels are not always enough to cover damages, and some boaters don’t have insurance.
You have the right to file a lawsuit for economic and non-economic damages not covered by insurance, including:
- Medical bills and future medical costs
- Lost wages and future earnings
- Property damage
- Rehabilitation and in-home nursing care
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma, such as PTSD
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Funeral and burial costs, loss of companionship, and other damages in a wrongful death claim
An insurance company may offer you a quick settlement, but do not accept without consulting an accomplished Utah boat accident attorney. These settlements are sometimes a way to end claims before victims realize the full extent of their damages.
What Makes Utah Boat Accident Cases So Complicated?
It is difficult to decipher the maze of complications in boating accident cases without the help of a skilled Utah boat injury lawyer. For example, boat operators in Utah aren’t always licensed and may not know waterway rules, particularly non-residents and people who rent or borrow boats. Lack of training or certification can strengthen your case, but proving someone failed to take a mandatory course or meet other regulations requires investigation.
Some crashes involve tourists or rental companies based elsewhere. This can complicate legal communications and liability claims, especially when the defendant’s insurance policy originated in another state.
Boat renters often sign liability waivers, but those don’t always hold up in court. These documents are frequently meant to intimidate accident victims into thinking they can’t recover compensation. However, a rental waiver likely isn’t enforceable if negligence or faulty equipment contributed to a crash.
Jurisdiction in boat accident cases is often unclear. Utah State Parks, sheriff’s offices, or federal agencies may investigate your accident, depending on the waterway where it occurred. Follow up to determine who the investigative authority is so you know where to seek information.
Our Utah Office Locations
169 W 2710 S Cir. #202-A
St. George, UT 84790
(By Appointment Only)
Deadlines You Need To Know
Immediately following a boat accident, the operator must exchange information, including their name, address, and vessel identification information, with anyone injured or with property damage. Boaters must also immediately stop and render aid if they can do so without seriously endangering themselves, their vessel, the crew, or passengers, and notify local law enforcement.
Under Utah R650-223-1, you have 10 days to report a boating accident to the nearest state park ranger or law enforcement officer. You must file the required Utah Boating Accident Report if your accident resulted in any of these outcomes:
- Death or disappearance with an indication of death
- Injuries requiring more than first aid
- Property damage exceeding $2,000
To file a lawsuit, you must do so within Utah’s four-year personal injury statute of limitations, which starts running on the accident date. If you are filing a wrongful death claim, you have only two years from the date of death to file your case.
Ready To Take the Next Step? Contact Our Lawyers Now
Accidents happen, but when someone’s negligence causes an incident that harms you or your family, you have the right to seek compensation. Determining when someone is liable for damages in a boating accident is often challenging, so you need professional legal guidance to seek compensation through an insurance claim or a lawsuit.
Give yourself peace of mind by partnering with our experienced Utah boating injury lawyers at Feller & Wendt, LLC™. We offer every client personalized service, including giving them our cell phone numbers. When you partner with us, it’s our family protecting yours.
Request a free consultation for your boating accident case by calling 801-499-5060 or completing our online contact form. We offer a no-fee guarantee, so you don’t have any upfront costs and only pay us if we win.
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*This information provided by Feller & Wendt, LLC™ is for informational purposes only and should be in no way construed as legal advice.
