Personal Injury Law

Florida Leads Nation in Boating Accident Deaths

By Joseph I. Lipsky, Esq.

Not surprisingly, given our location and the number of boaters in Florida, we again lead the nation in the number of boating accident fatalities. Unfortunately, Miami-Dade County has the dubious distinction of leading the State, having had 13 such wrongful deaths last year.

The findings, reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, revealed that 77 people suffered wrongful deaths on Florida waters in 2007. Apparently the vast majority of all boating accidents occurred with operators who had no safety training.

Thankfully, the State has finally approved plans to increase mandatory boater education requirements over the next decade. The hope is that this increased training will reduce fatalities by as much as 25 percent; we certainly share the State's hope.

Full post as published by Florida Personal Injury Law Blog on May 09, 2008 (boomark / email).