Injured in a Miami Boating Accident?

Attorney Jack Hickey | 888-393-1388 | Free Consult

If you’re injured in a Miami boating accident, what are the first steps you should take?

John H. “Jack” Hickey is an injury attorney and maritime lawyer based in Miami. In this Quick Question, he explains what you should do immediately after a boat accident.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-393-1388 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

The first thing to do after a boating accident is to seek emergency medical care.

This advice goes for any kind of accident and is essential for a variety of reasons. An accident victim’s current and future health is the most important thing to be considered throughout the entire legal process while seeking compensation.

However, seeking medical care immediately after an accident has another benefit as well; it ensures that an official record exists documenting the presence and severity of the injury itself. It may be tempting to wait out a minor injury, expecting it to heal on its own, but this can actually have a negative effect on a victim’s case further down the road. Waiting to seek medical care after an accident could allow the other party to make the argument that you couldn’t have been that injured in the first place if you could wait to seek treatment. For all of these reasons, it is imperative to seek medical care immediately after a boating accident, regardless of the severity of the injury.

The second thing to do after a boating accident is to preserve evidence from the scene.

While law enforcement will certainly collect their own evidence upon arriving at the scene, it’s a good idea to begin collecting your own evidence right away. Relevant evidence after a boating accident could include pictures of any boats involved, injuries that occurred, property damaged, and any other element which may have contributed to or resulted from the accident. Preserving this evidence on your own ensures that you do not have to rely on the evidence gathered by another outside party.

The third and fourth things to do after a boating accident: call law enforcement and contact a boat accident attorney.

It’s important to call law enforcement before leaving the scene of the accident so that they can collect the information of everyone present and collect their own evidence to file an official report. It’s important to remain at the scene of the accident unless receiving emergency medical care to ensure that fault isn’t placed where it doesn’t belong.

Finally, it’s important to contact a boat accident attorney. Unique kinds of evidence exist in boat accident cases which may not be present in other kinds of accidents. Hiring an attorney who understands boating law and boat accident trends can be paramount to ensuring a speedy and successful case.

To learn more, contact Jack Hickey directly by calling 888-393-1388 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Video Transcript:

Rob Rosenthal:

Do you know what to do if you're in a boating accident in Miami?

We asked Florida attorney Jack Hickey in this AskTheLawyers.com™ Quick Question.

Jack Hickey:

If you're injured in a boating accident or really any accident, the first thing you need to do, of course, is get emergency medical care.

The second thing though, you wanna think about preservation of evidence, and I know that it sounds like some big words, so don't the police do that?

The police don't always even take photographs, much less video tape of the surroundings. Get somebody, or get in touch with somebody who's taking photographs. That's number two. Number three is, of course, to call the authorities.

Number four is call a lawyer. Call a lawyer who specializes in that. You talked about... You gave an example of a boating accent that's governed by, that's maritime law right there.

For that reason, you need a specialist. We do specialize in this area, and we get results. All the insurance companies know who we are, and they know we know what we're doing in boating accidents.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.