INJURY | PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER | PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY | INJURIES

The best ways to stay safe while operating a personal watercraft is to wear a life vest, obey safety rules, drive within accepted speed limits, and avoid driving under the influence. Ninety percent of boaters and personal watercraft operators who drown were not wearing life vests.

 

Personal watercrafts also cause injuries when they malfunction because of defective parts. To find a complete list of recalled personal watercrafts, visit the U.S. Coast Guard’s site at www.uscgboating.org.

 

For most states, the minimum operator age is 16 years. Also, states require that operators and passengers wear Coast Guard approved life jackets, avoid driving at night, avoid reckless or aggressive driving, and wear a lanyard stop switch in case the operator is separated from the machine. Formal operator training is important too…more than 70 percent of the people killed last year were untrained operators or passengers of an untrained operator.

 

Unfortunately, accidents do happen…more than 5,000 per year that involve personal watercrafts.

 

In recent news, New England Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill drowned after he fell from a jet ski and hit his head. It took searchers several hours to find his body. Following his death, authorities recommended not only wearing approved life vests, but also wearing a signaling device so rescuers can find you.