Chicago Boating Accident Lawyers

Part of the allure of Chicago is that it borders Lake Michigan. There are other beautiful bodies of water in Illinois as well, including the Illinois River and many others. Where there are lakes and rivers, there are boats, and where there are boats, unfortunately, there are boating accidents.

Like most accidents, boating accidents are preventable. Many boat accidents involve alcohol use, and many fatalities can be prevented if boaters use life jackets or other flotation devices. The majority of boating fatalities are from drowning. Careless operation, reckless operation, operator inattention and operator inexperience are top contributors to boating injuries and deaths.

Open motorboats, cabin motorboats, personal watercraft and jet skis are the most common types of watercraft involved in boating injuries.

Boating accidents happen in large part because people fail to appreciate the dangers of boating. They think of boats as cars on water. They are not. The dangers are less obvious, but ever present. For example, you cannot stop quickly in a boat, and boats do not have seat belts, so collisions in boats frequently cause serious injuries. Boaters are easily ejected from boats, and the ejected boaters can drown, especially if they do not know how to swim and aren’t wearing a life jacket. Even if they know how to swim, boaters can be rendered unconscious by striking their head before falling overboard. Boaters are especially prone to accidents at night.

Jet skiing, fishing, water skiing and tubing are all popular water sport activities. Accidents happen during all of these activities, especially when they are combined with drinking alcohol.

A boating accident lawyer knows that the same rules that apply to car accidents do not necessarily apply to boating accidents. There are regulations and rules of the waterway that an attorney must know in order to be competent in this field. Boating accident lawyers also know how to investigate boating accidents, how to gather all the key evidence and present that evidence to people who evaluate these cases, i.e., insurance adjusters, judges, defense lawyers and juries.

Contact Our Chicago Boating Accident Lawyers

Contact our skilled Chicago Boating Accident Lawyers today for your FREE consultation at 312-957-4166 or e-mail us at info@willenslaw.com as soon as possible to find out how we can help you. Attorney consultations are offered at no cost.