Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) said in the release that "The Costa Concordia tragedy is a wakeup call for the United States and international maritime organizations to carefully review and make certain we have in place all appropriate standards to ensure passengers' safety on cruise ships." He said that "The Committee will review the events of this specific incident, current safety measures and training requirements set by law and international maritime transportation agreements to ensure this mode of transportation remains as safe as possible."

Mica stated that the tragedy appeared to be preventable and the hearing is an effort to prevent such tragedies in the future. Current U.S. laws and regulations will be reviewed in relation to vessels at U.S. ports and in U.S. waters but they do not necessarily apply to Americans cruising internationally. The United Nations Agency that regulates international shipping, the International Maritime Organization, will review the details of the recent tragedy and the current international maritime safety treaty, the Safety of Life at Sea Convention.

Final Tally: 3 dead, 2 hospitalized with injuries in the Key West Super Boat World Championships.

Boating accidents are not uncommon in Florida, where tourists and residents alike enjoy nearly 1,200 miles of coastline, 7,700 lakes larger than 10 acres, and more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways. Unfortunately, residents and visitors alike are also killed and injured as a result of water skiing, jet skiing, pleasure boating, and many other kinds of boating activities.

Last Wednesday, the opening day of the Key West Super Boat World Championships began with a bad omen for the multi-day event. Two of the racers, both visiting Florida from Missouri, were killed when their 46-foot Skater with four 1,200-horsepower engines crashed in Key West Harbor after the boat barrel-rolled and landed upside down, reported the Miami Herald. Despite being pulled onto a rescue boat by paramedics who jumped out of helicopters in the rescue attempt, the two men were pronounced dead at the Lower Keys Medical Center that afternoon.

On Friday, another racer was killed when his 28-foot boat with twin 850-horsepower engines rolled near an offshore turn. He was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and died early Saturday morning.

The event closed on Sunday with two more racers suffering injuries. Two men from New Jersey racing a 38-foot boat with twin 750-horsepower engines smacked their boat into a wave. One suffered a torn ear and possible concussion and was evacuated to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The other was treated at Lower Keys Medical Center. So far it is believed that neither men suffered life-threatening injuries.

In 2007 there were 77 fatalities caused by boating accidents in Florida alone, which led the entire country. With over 1 million registered vessels in Florida, there were over 650 reported boating accidents resulting in injury, death or serious damage. It is estimated that there are another 350,000 non-registered boats using Florida's waterways.

A deadly combination of factors in a Philadelphia waterway has left two tourists dead, a father of two young children jailed for a year, and several lawsuits still pending.

On the day of the incident, the operator of a 33-foot "Ride the Ducks" sightseeing boat anchored in a shipping channel of the Delaware River after detecting smoke and suspecting an onboard fire, cited CNN International. There were 35 passengers and two crew members on board.

Video footage shown on The Today Show revealed the shocking footage of a towed 250-foot sludge barge running over and submerging the tourist boat in a matter of seconds. Amazingly, only two tourists died in the accident.

The pilot of the tugboat towing the barge has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the incident, after teary pleading by himself and his wife in court for leniency with the potential four-year sentence. The pilot admitted he was distracted by his cell phone and laptop prior to the collision, in part due to a call from his wife regarding complications that morning during their 6-year-old's eye surgery.

Litigation is still pending with K-Sea Transportation of East Brunswick, New Jersey and Ride the Ducks of Norcross, Georgia. Both companies have asked the federal government to limit their liability in the incident, according to the CNN report.

An NTSB report showed several people involved were on cell phones or computers at the time of the accident. Driving While Distracted now carries new meaning. CNN reported that an NTSB representative said the incident was "another tragic example of the deadliness of distraction."

While this incident occurred on a waterway, cell phone distraction while driving has been an issue of increasing concern for years. As of December 2008, there were 271 million cell phones in use in the United States, representing 84% of the country's population. Drivers are increasingly distracting themselves by chatting, texting and emailing while on the road, often resulting in dangerous accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that driving while distracted contributes to one in every four car crashes. By some estimates, in as many as half of all crashes (there were six million last year), cell phone use was involved.

The widespread awareness of this problem has prompted government concern and states are now addressing the issue legislatively. Some states and municipalities have acted to ban texting while driving and/or driving with a handheld device, while six states - including Florida - have laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting restrictions. In other states, localities are allowed to ban cell phone use or texting while driving. In October 2009, President Obama issued an order banning all 4.5 million federal employees from texting while driving.

Careless boating and unheeded warnings led to a 14-year-old girl's leg getting caught in a boat propeller on Juno Beach Pier in Palm Beach County over the weekend. Lifeguards had repeatedly warned the 22-foot boat to leave the swimming area, according to a Sun Sentinel report, but the boat continued toward the beach.

© Richardpross | Dreamstime.com

The girl and her friends were swimming in about 3 feet of water when the boat approached, and they attempted to climb in. Waves pushed the boat toward shore and eventually the driver revved the engine to prevent beaching it. The boat struck three of the girls and the propeller cut one of their legs, leaving the girl in critical but stable condition and undergoing surgery. The boat sped away after the accident and was later impounded after being found in Jupiter.

In 2007 there were 77 fatalities caused by boating accidents in Florida alone, which led the entire country. With over 1 million registered vessels in Florida, there were over 650 reported boating accidents resulting in injury, death or serious damage. It is estimated that there are another 350,000 non-registered boats using Florida's waterways.

Virtually all boating accidents are preventable. The most common cause of these tragedies is operator inexperience or inattention. 84% of all boating fatalities that occur on boats happen where operators have not completed a boating safety education course.

Following the report of an unmanned jet ski adrift a half mile offshore from the Fort Lauderdale beach, the Coast Guard found a woman's body a mile and a half out to sea, according to the Sun Sentinel. The woman's death is under investigation.

Unfortunately, accidents involving water sports are quite common in Florida. Residents and visitors alike are killed and injured as a result of water skiing, jet skiing, pleasure boating, and many other kinds of boating activities. In 2007 there were 77 fatalities caused by boating accidents in Florida alone, which led the entire country. With over 1 million registered vessels in Florida, there were over 650 reported boating accidents resulting in injury, death or serious damage. It is estimated that there are another 350,000 non-registered boats using Florida's waterways.

Virtually all boating accidents are preventable. The most common cause of these tragedies is operator inexperience or inattention. 84% of all boating fatalities that occur on boats happen where operators have not completed a boating safety education course.