Personal Injury Law

Water Taxi Accident at Seattle Pier Injures Seven People

By LaBovick Law

A water taxi slammed into a pier Sunday in Seattle, Washington, injuring at least seven people. According to the U.S. Coast Guard rescue workers responded to the boating accident that happened shortly before noon on Sunday. The vessel slammed into historic Pier 50, also known as the Washington Street Public Boat Landing Facility. Reportedly, seven people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

There were about 78 passengers and crew were aboard the water taxi – most of which were Seahawks fans heading for the big game with the San Diego Chargers - at the time of the crash.

In the 2009 report on Boating Accident Statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard, approximately 4,730 accidents caused 736 deaths and over 3,300 injuries occurred in 2009.The fatality rate, which compares the number of annual deaths against the number of registered boats, increased to 5.8 deaths per 100,000 registered boats in 2009.

The top five contributing factors to the accidents included boat operator inattention and inexperience, excessive speed, improper lookout and alcohol consumption. The U.S. Coast Guard report states that alcohol consumption "continues to be of major concern" in fatal accidents, and was the leading factor in 16 percent of deaths. Approximately 86 percent of boat operators involved in fatal accidents had not received boat safety instruction.

The state of Florida led the nation in boating accidents with 610 total boating accidents in 2009. This was a decrease from 2008, which had 616 boating accidents in Florida. The number of fatal accidents in Florida increased in 2009 to 53 fatal boating accidents from 50 fatal boating accidents in 2008. The number of deaths in boating accidents increased in 2009 to 67 boating deaths up from 55 boating deaths in 2008.

The State of California came in second place with 478 boating accidents in 2009. This was a decrease from 2008 which had 520 boating accidents in California. The number of fatal accidents in California increased in 2009 to 42 fatal boating accidents from 39 fatal boating accidents in 2008. The number of deaths increased in 2009 to 47 boating deaths up from 45 boating deaths in 2008

Click on the following link to read more on the Seattle Water Taxi Accident that injured Seven

Click on the following link to read more on Boating Injury Statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on September 27, 2010 (boomark / email).