Boating Accidents

August 15, 2010

Operating a Boat While Intoxicated

An idiot in a jet boat hit my jet ski last weekend. I received a broken leg as a result. The TWRA officer said that the driver of the jet boat was going to have to submit to a test to see if he was under the influence of alcohol. Can he be charged with drunk driving a boat?

Yes, if his blood level of alcohol is .08% or more. Under Tennessee law, blood-alcohol content may be taken from all vessel operators involved in an accident where death or serious injury occurred. Failure to consent to testing is a separate offense and may result in suspension of vessel operating privileges for six months.

Conviction for operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol will result in fines of up to $2,500 on the first offense, $2,500 on the second offense and $5,000 for the third offense. A jail sentence of 11 months and 29 days may also be imposed for any conviction and operating privileges may be suspended from one to ten years.

August 15, 2010

Will My Case Go to Trial?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hurt when I was swimming and got run over by a jet ski. I have filed a lawsuit but am scared to death about going to trial. Will there be a trial?

Now days, most cases do not go to trial.

These statistics will give you an idea of how many cases are actually tried. In the one-year period ending June 30, 2009, there were about 11,000 lawsuits filed involving all types of personal injury and wrongful death in the state of Tennessee. (Many other cases were settled before a lawsuit was even filed; those numbers are not publicly available.) However, there were only 260 jury trials and 348 non-jury trials in personal injury and wrongful death cases during that same period. These statistics are about the same from year to year, and thus it is fair to say that only about 5% percent of personal injury and wrongful death cases in which lawsuits are filed actually go to trial.

August 9, 2010

The Other Driver Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a bad car wreck. I had $50,000 in medical bills and missed eight weeks of work (I make $800 per week as a mechanic). I am probably going to have to have another surgery. My doctor also says I will have arthritis for the rest of my life. I just found out that the person who hit me only has $100,000 of liability insurance. That is not enough for what he did to me. Can I force the person who caused the wreck to pay me out of his pocket?

A person or company is always liable for all of the harm they negligently cause. A person purchases insurance to reduce his or her own risk of coming out of pocket to pay for that harm, but if the harm caused exceeds the amount of insurance purchased he or she is liable for the rest.

The problem, of course, is collecting from a person who causes harm. To make a payment to the injured person over and above the amount of insurance the person who causes harm must have assets, income, or both. Many people have very few assets and insufficient income to make a payment to the person who they hurt. If pressed, these people will often just file bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court will discharge the obligation. (There are some exceptions to this. For example, the bankruptcy court will not discharge the lawsuit-related obligation of a drunk driver or a person who intentionally harms another.)