Police Looking for Boat Involved in Hit-and-Run Accident With Pembroke Pines Snorkelers
A Broward County father and son narrowly avoided serious injuries when they were hit by a passing boat, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported July 6. Rudy Perez and his 15-year-old son, Christian Waters-Perez, were snorkeling during the Sunday incident. Fortunately, they weren’t seriously hurt when a 26-foot boat passed overhead, hitting Perez in the head and Waters-Perez in the legs. As required by law, they had their red-and-white dive flag up, warning boaters to stay 100-300 feet away.
According to Perez, he and his son were about 200 yards off the Hollywood coast when a boat with the ironic name Karma hit them. He described it as having a white hull and a light blue canopy over the console. The operator waved at the snorkelers and apologized, but didn’t slow down or stop. Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the operator might face criminal charges if found -- but because boat names aren’t necessarily on registrations, a record search may not help. The incident left Perez with a headache and Waters-Perez with a limp, but both said they would be fine.
I am pleased that this accident didn’t cause more serious injuries. As a Fort Lauderdale boating accident lawyer, I know that boats can cause serious damage to a human body -- especially if hitting the hull produces a head injury, or the victim gets tangled in a propeller, both of which can fatally incapacitate a swimmer. However, if these two victims had suffered more serious injuries, the description in the article suggests that the boater would have been at fault. That would make him or her legally liable in any Aventura boating accident lawsuit the family might choose to file.
Just like drivers on the road, boaters have a legal responsibility to take reasonable care when they’re plying public waters. When they fail in that duty, people who are seriously injured as a result have the right to hold them legally liable for those injuries. For more than 25 years, Cohn, Smith & Cohn has represented people who were seriously injured in Florida waters by someone else’s carelessness. In a Deerfield Beach boating accident lawsuit, plaintiffs may claim compensation for their injuries, physical pain, emotional suffering and any permanent disability or wrongful death. Just as importantly for many families, they can also claim the financial costs of the accident, including the costs of medical treatment, missed work and destroyed equipment.
If you or a loved one was seriously injured in a Florida boating accident and you’d like to learn more about your legal options, you should contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn for a free evaluation of your case. You can reach us online or call our main Pembroke Pines office at (954) 431-8100.
