Jet Ski or Personal Watercraft Accidents: Types and Causes
Port of Miami, Bayside, Star Island, Sir Flagler Island, they're all ideal areas for jet skiers. Sadly, these are also ideal locations for serious collisions and injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board reports that inexperienced riders are responsible for approximately 84% of all accidents involving personal watercraft (PWC).
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's yearly statistics, 132 persons have been injured and 11 victims died recently in PWC accidents in Florida. Monroe County had the highest number of registered accidents, 32, causing 1 fatality and 33 injuries. 20 accidents occurred in Miami-Dade County causing 4 fatalities and 16 injuries.
Jet Ski is the trademarked name of a particular model of personal watercraft. Typically, a PWC can mean any of the following models of boats:
- Jet Ski (Kawasaki Motors Corp.)
- Waverunner (Yamaha Motor Corporation)
- Ski-Doo (Bombardier Recreational Products)
- Other trade names
More than 1.3 million personal watercraft are estimated to be in operation today in the United States. These vessels use an inboard, internal combustion engine powering a water jet pump as a primary source of propulsion. PWC are designed and marketed for speed and used for enjoyment, particularly for touring and maneuvers such as wave jumping, and they are capable of speeds in the 60 mile-per-hour (mph) range.
Jet skis and other recreational boats do not have off-throttle steering and braking and everything depends on the user’s ability to reduce the throttle, thrust the engine, or change direction. Therefore, jet skiing is an inherently dangerous sport and those involved are choosing to subject themselves to the possibility of sustaining some sort of injury or accident.
There are numerous ways for jet skis and other personal watercraft accidents to occur. Statistically, injuries often result from:
- Collision with another vessel
- Collision with poles, docks, buoys, sand bars, or debris
- Falling at high rates of speed
- Grounding the watercraft
- Capsizing
- Engine explosion or fire
- Striking a swimmer or another person in the water
Certain conditions and actions make a jet ski accident more likely to happen, for example:
1. The Negligence of Operators
- Inexperience
- Inattention
- Jumping wakes
- Weaving between vessels
- Making radical course changes
- Spinning doughnuts
- Excessive speed
- Alcohol or drug use
- Obstructed vision
- Failure to vent fumes
- Violation of navigation rule
2. Broken or Defective Jet Ski
A design or manufacturing defect in the product, causing it to be dangerous (controls go out, the engine catches fire, etc.)
3. The Negligence of the Jet Ski Owner/Rental Company
- The jet ski may not have been inspected within the legally prescribed time frame in which it was required to be inspected.
- The rental company was negligent in allowing someone who should not have been behind the controls to operate a jet ski.
- The jet skis rental company may not have adhered to the given state's jet ski laws.
- The area in which the operator was jet-skiing may have been poorly maintained.
- The operators were outside of the maintained area and the owner/instructors did not stop them in a reasonable time.
4. Other Factors
Weather conditions, dangerous waters, and the force of wakes and waves can also contribute to a personal watercraft accident.
The Law in Florida Regarding Jet Skis or Personal Watercraft
Because Florida has had a disproportionate number of PWC accidents in the past, our state has implemented laws to reduce the damage:
- Restrictions on use of PWC within 100 feet of another vessel
- Restrictions on operation of PWC within 150 feet on the shore
- Restriction of spraying activities
- Restriction of operator age requirement to 14 years of age
- Restriction of renter age requirement to 18 years of age
- Allowing a person younger than 14 to operate a personal watercraft in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor
- Mandatory boating safety course for operators under age 22
- Mandatory wear of an approved personal flotation device (PFD)
- Prohibition of operation from a half-hour after sunset to a half-hour before sunrise even if the vessel has navigation lights
- Prohibition of weaving through congested boat traffic
- Prohibition of deliberately powering toward a collision and swerving at the last moment
- Wake-jumping restrictions
Jet Ski or Personal Watercraft Accidents: Injuries
Personal injury attorney Sean Cleary represents victims injured in jet ski and PWC accidents that result in the following:
90 percent of the injuries following PWC accidents are traumatic in nature. If you've suffered a jet ski-related injury, it's important to speak with a personal injury lawyer to determine which parties can be held responsible for the accident. You only have a certain period of time to file a claim, so calling us sooner rather than later will give us time to fully analyze your case and decide on the best course of action.
