New York City witnesses a plethora of boat accidents that involve ferries, cruises, water taxies, jet skiing, and various other recreational activities undertaken across the New York waterways every year. Those involved in such watercraft accidents are often subjected to catastrophic impacts such as bone fractures, brain injuries, paraplegia or quadriplegia, hypothermia, serious lacerations, or even death by drowning.
A ferry accident may occur due to factors and causes that are humanly uncontrollable, such as congested waters, erratic weather or hazardous water routes taken by the boat. Even so, the captain or the person manning the ferry is trained and expected to ensure that the boat is well maintained and well equipped to handle these external factors.
When the person in charge fails to keep the ferry in excellent condition, or ignores any aspect that could harm its passengers’ life during the journey, it calls for legal action on the grounds of negligence that causes personal injury.
Causes of Ferry Accidents by Negligence
Ferry crash accidents may often be the result of operator errors and failure to maintain the vessel. Some common acts of negligence that lead to boat accidents are:
- Boating in restricted areas
- Boat malfunctions
- Navigating hazardous waters
- Violating Boater Safety Laws
- Failure to dock the ferry properly
- Failure to replace defective safety devices or boat equipment on board
- Boating when intoxicated by alcohol or drugs
- Excessive speed
- Failure to watch out for other boats, or people/animals/objects in the water
- Failure to equip the boat with working fire extinguishers
- Failure to maintain the boat in boating condition
- Inexperienced or unskilled operators
- Improper communication with operators on land
- Reckless boating
- Violating the usage of safety equipment
- Operator distractions
Preventing Ferry Accidents
The risk of a ferry accident occurrence increases when the boat owner, be it an individual operator, the municipality, the boat-making company, or the land operator, fail to administer the required safety precautions maintained and exercised on the boat.
The responsible party must make sure that the ferry is equipped with extensive safety measures, including sufficient life jackets, fire extinguishers, rescue kits, and other devices. They must also make certain that the boat is well-maintained, regularly checked for leakages or spares malfunctions and replaced accordingly. When these steps are not exercised properly, the chances of a ferry crash may not increase. But if there is a crash, the passengers face a serious situation since certain precautions have not been taken to insure their safety in an emergency.
Seek Legal Aid
The New York City ferry accident attorney are trained to handle and win compensation for clients who have been involved in several types of ferry accidents including:
- New York Water Taxi
- Governors Island Transportation
- Liberty Ferry New York
- Ferry to Ellis Island
- Statue of Liberty New York Water Taxi
- East River Ferry
- New York Waterways East River Ferry
- Hudson River Ferries
- Ferries to the 9/11 Memorial
A Law Firm that Strikes Fear into the Opposition
If you have been injured in a ferry accident due to negligence, get in touch with our New York City ferry accident attorney to discuss your case and understand your entitlements. Attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff (RMFW) can help you win appropriate compensation and financial coverage for your losses. We don’t get paid until you are paid. Call 212-344-1000now and speak with us about this.
RMFW is a terrific law firm that has won millions of dollars for their clients. Do you want to be on this sterling list? If you want to increase the chances of your bank account being increased, you need to call us.
