St. Louis Boat Accident Lawyer

Missouri is a beautiful state for recreational boating and fishing, including the boating opportunities right here in St. Louis County, like Creve Coeur, Carlyle Lakes, and the iconic Mississippi River. While most days on a lake or river end with happy memories and a full fish cooler, it only takes one careless mistake for a day on the water to end in disaster. Sadly, most boating accident injuries result from operator error, including careless or reckless actions. If you or a close family member suffered injuries in a boat accident in St. Louis County, and the injury resulted from another party’s negligence, call Miller & Hine to speak to an experienced St. Louis boat accident attorney.

Why Select Miller & Hine as Your Boat Accident Lawyers In St. Louis?

Miller & Hine is a St. Louis law firm comprised of dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyers with a combined 50 years of experience navigating injury claims, including those from boat accidents. With our legal representation, your boat accident case has the following benefits:

• A free consultation and contingency-based payment, so you pay nothing upfront, instead only paying after we recover compensation in your case
• The combined efforts of an entire legal team and staff working behind the scenes on your case
• An investigation conducted by your attorney to document clear evidence of liability
• Access to the best medical experts so we have compelling evidence of your past, current, and future damages from the injury

Our law firm’s history of notable results and satisfied clients puts a strong voice for financial accountability behind your St. Louis boat accident case.

Common Causes of Boat Accidents In St. Louis County

The Missouri State Highway Patrol tracks boating accidents and injuries after investigating all recreational boat accidents within the state. Boat accidents and boating injuries are not as uncommon as you might think. Missouri saw 122 boating injuries and 28 deaths in a single recent year, including tragic drownings and other injuries. According to officials, the most common causes of boat accidents and injuries in St. Louis and throughout Missouri’s waterways include the following:

• Excessive speed
• Inexperienced boat operator
• Failing to keep an adequate lookout
• Intoxication or impairment
• Inadequate equipment maintenance
• Navigational errors
• Overloading
• Reckless operation
• Mechanical failures
• Lack of protective guardrails while allowing passengers on bows, decks, and gunwales
• Failing to adjust speed and attention to accommodate inclement weather or rough water conditions

Injuries in boat accidents have worse outcomes when boats lack adequate safety devices such as floats, life preservers, and fire extinguishers.

What Types of Boat Accidents Happen In Missouri?

Most Missouri boat accidents happen during the warm-weather months between May and August, especially on Fridays and weekends when more people enjoy the water. Unfortunately, intoxication combined with inexperienced and inattentive boat operators causes serious accidents on the water, such as the following:

• Collisions between boats
• Collisions with docks or obstacles
• Capsizes
• Wake force accidents
• Flooding or swamping
• Fires and explosions
• Sinking
• Grounding

Boat owners have a legal duty to ensure that only qualified, experienced operators use their boats and that everyone aboard follows basic boater safety rules.

What Types of Injuries Happen In Boat Accidents In St. Louis County?

We commonly think of drowning as the only type of accident that happens during boating, but there are other hazardous conditions on a moving watercraft that can also cause injuries and fatalities, including falls, fires, and impacts from the boom or swinging keels on sailboats, which are also frequently reported. Common injuries in Missouri boat accidents include the following:

• Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Soft-tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and torn ligaments
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Broken bones
• External head, facial, and dental injuries
• Near-drowning and drowning
• Burns
• Traumatic amputations and other propeller injuries
• Electrocutions
• Heat stroke and dehydration
• Hypothermia

Injuries in boating accidents range from mild and inconvenient to life-altering, catastrophic injuries or fatalities.

What to Do After a Boat Accident In St. Louis

Boat accidents are emergency situations when they involve injuries out on the water, where it may take significant time for help to arrive or for an injury victim to reach a hospital or emergency medical facility. After a boat accident, take the following steps:

• Stop the vessel immediately and assess the damage
• Make sure all passengers are wearing life jackets
• Provide any necessary emergency first aid
• Prioritize getting medical attention for those who are injured
• Move the boat to a safe location if necessary
• Call 911 to report the accident and request emergency services for injury victims
• Use your phone’s camera to take photos of anything relevant to the accident, such as another vessel, an obstacle, or a faulty mechanical part or equipment
• Photograph any visible injuries
• Report the accident to the Missouri Highway Patrol (be prepared to tell them your name, address, the vessel registration number, your driver’s license number, and the number of your boater’s safety ID card

After a boat accident in St. Louis, you must file an accident report with the Missouri Highway Patrol office if the boating accident caused one or more fatalities, any injuries, or $500 or more in property damage. Injury victims should always go to a hospital after an accident. It’s best to ask for a full medical evaluation in addition to treatment for emergency injuries. This helps to diagnose, treat, and document any injuries with delayed symptoms such as whiplash, internal injuries, or brain injuries.

Recovering Damages In a St. Louis Boat Accident Case

Injuries in boat accidents are often painful and debilitating. Some accidents end in fatal injuries, such as drowning or brain injuries from lack of oxygen in near drownings. Compensation in Missouri boat accident cases often includes the following:

• Property damage to a vessel
• Medical expenses
• Future medical costs related to the injury
• Lost earnings
• Future income loss or lowered earning ability
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Compensation for pain and suffering

In catastrophic injury cases, additional damages may apply, such as loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement compensation, or compensation for wrongful death paid to a surviving family member after a fatal injury.

Call Miller & Hine To Speak to a St. Louis Boat Accident Lawyer

If you or a close family member were seriously hurt in a boat accident in St. Louis County and the accident was preventable if only someone else had taken reasonable care, call the St. Louis boat accident lawyers at Miller & Hine for experienced representation in your claim.