Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Police in Sarasota chased down a speeding and out of control boat this week, but there was no operator on board to be chastised.
That is because the vessel’s operator, who was not wearing the skill switch, had been tossed off when a wake hit. As a result, the man was thrown into the water without a life jacket as his vessel sped off without him at 40 mph. When the vessel’s operator was thrown off, he broke two fingers but was otherwise uninjured, according to reporting from Fox News.
Luckily, officers with the Sarasota Police Department’s Marine Patrol were able to catch up with the vessel, hop on and shut it off before anyone else was injured.
“This happens a lot, too much,” Ofc. Ron Dixon with the Sarasota Police Department Marine Patrol told media at a recent press conference. “And, unfortunately for local and state agencies, we are unable to enforce when they’re not wearing it. That is federal law.”
Florida Law
As of 2021, federal law requires engine cut-off switches — also known as kill switches — to be used on recreational motorboats less than 26 feet in length. Exemptions to this requirement include boats whose helm is located within an enclosed cabin and vessels manufactured before January 1, 2020, which may not be equipped with such switches.
In 2022, Florida passed its own version of a kill switch law—commonly referred to as Ethan’s Law—named in honor of 10-year-old Ethan Isaacs, who tragically died in a 2020 boating accident. This state law similarly mandates the use of engine cut-off devices —lanyards, harnesses, or wireless systems — on motorized vessels 26 feet and under while underway. Ethan’s Law is a separate law enforced at the state level in Florida.
While there is no official nationwide data on the exact number of injuries or deaths resulting specifically from the lack of engine cut-off switch use, the Water Sports Foundation — a 22-year-old nonprofit focused on boating safety — estimates that dozens of preventable fatalities occur annually across the country. According to WSF, injuries involving runaway boats and propeller strikes account for approximately 4% of boating accidents and related injuries in the U.S. each year.
In the Sunshine State, according to the latest available data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, boaters falling overboard made up about 25% of boating fatalities in 2023. More than half of all vessels involved in fatal accidents in 2023 were 21 feet long or less.
In all, the state saw 659 reportable accidents with nearly 60 deaths. At least 408 people were injured from boating in 2023.
Leesfield & Partners
Operating in a state with over 1,300 miles of coastline, our attorneys can attest that watersport activities — from days spent bobbing along the waves with a snorkeling mask to speeding across the water on a jet ski — are a way of life in Florida. With over 48 years of experience in personal injury law, however, Leesfield & Partners knows that these activities can also have serious consequences.
In decades of experience, this firm has secured numerous record verdicts and settlements for clients and their grieving family members. Whether these incidents result from the negligence of inexperienced operators, machinery malfunction or intoxicated individuals, Leesfield & Partners has a long history of holding at-fault parties accountable for their actions. The FWC reported in annual numbers that 83% of operators involved in fatal collisions on the water had no formal boater’s education. This inexperience combined with alcohol or drug use – accounting for 23% of 2023 boating fatalities – is a recipe for disaster.
With these numbers, the passage of legislation such as Lucy’s Law, which aims to increase penalties for negligent boaters who cause injury, has never been more important.
“The dangers from boating incidents are entirely underestimated as South Florida becomes more congested, drinking on the water becomes more prevalent and distractions from cell phones and other devices increases,” said the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
Previous Cases
Previously, the firm represented a family who lost their 20-year-old daughter in a tragic boating accident. The young woman was a passenger on a boat being operated by a boater who was speeding at night in low visibility when he crashed into a concrete dock. Tragically, our client’s daughter was among the passengers ejected from the vessel and did not survive.
Through an investigation, our attorneys discovered that not only had this boater been speeding but he was also drinking the night of the crash. The firm secured over $1.3 million for the family in that case.
Another horrific boating accident case handled by the firm involved a minor whose leg was later amputated following an incident aboard a vessel. This incident happened when the adults in charge failed to properly supervise the children in their care. A substantial recovery was obtained for the child.
Leesfield & Partners represented a family whose son was hit and killed by a negligent boater who did not stop when he hit their child. The boater, also a minor, attempted to lie and conceal evidence when questioned by authorities. Neighbors who later testified at trial said that the minor was known to regularly operate the vessel recklessly and without supervision. The firm settled the case for over $1.7 million.
In another boating incident, the firm obtained a $935,000 recovery for an injured client.
The firm recovered $800,000 for a client injured in a boating accident involving a foreign resort.
In a drowning case against a boat tour company, Leesfield & Partners obtained a six-figure recovery amount for the wife of the man who drowned.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, recently settled a case on behalf of the family of a lobster diver hit and killed by a law enforcement officer in a boating accident.
Leesfield & Partners also handles jet ski crashes, an activity that Partner Justin B. Shapiro said in a Daily Business Review article produces more fatalities and injuries than any other water-related activity.
“Jet ski rentals are aggressively marketed as an ‘entry-level’ activity, when in reality, jet skis are full-blown death machines,” he wrote in the article. “They require vast knowledge and expertise to operate safely and even then, they can produce grievous injuries.”
In 2023, at least 23% of the 659 reportable accidents investigated by FWC officers involved personal watercrafts, according to the agency’s annual boating accident statistical report. More than half of these incidents involved a collision with another vessel. These incidents resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people and the injury to 115 others. In the last six years, Leesfield & Partners has secured over $10 million in jet ski crash recoveries for injured clients.
Recently, Mr. Shapiro filed a lawsuit against a cruise line whose jet ski tour guide crashed into our client from behind, causing multiple spinal fractures and severe injuries. That case is ongoing.
Previously, the firm handled a case in which a jet ski rental company failed to ensure all their customers understood a safety briefing. While they were out on the water, a French-speaking tourist struck and killed our client’s wife because he did not understand the tutorial.
The firm secured a multi-million-dollar result in that case for the grieving husband.
In another case, the firm secured more than $1.6 million for a client injured in a horrific jet ski accident.
