Each year in the US hundreds of people are killed and thousands are injured in boating accidents, and in California particularly, the problem is rising. If you have been involved in a marine craft collision and have suffered injuries then you may want to speak to experienced boating accident lawyers in Los Angeles.  The state of California currently has around 900,000 registered marine vessels and there have been  700 reported accidents. Of these 700 there were 44 fatalities and 439 serious injuries. The cost was over 4 million dollars in property damage so as you can see this is quite a big problem. In the majority of boating accidents involving leisure craft, alcohol is a large problem. In fact alcohol consumption accounted for 38% of the fatalities in California. In cases such as these, boating accident lawyers in Los Angeles are on hand to take on your claim.

 

The State of California also has a high number of personnel who work in the shipping industry. When the founding government were drafting the US constitution, they outlined 3 areas of law. These are state law, federal law and admiralty law. Admiralty law was passed so that overseas trade could be done reasonably freely without too much red tape. This means that this type of law is somewhat different to federal or state regulations. For this reason, there are also Los Angeles accident attorneys who are fully trained ,and indeed specialise, in the idiosyncrasies of the admiralty law policies.

 

In 1920 the Jones act was passed which allowed crew members to claim for injuries sustained whilst working on commercial sea vessels. It gave them the right to claim against the owners of the ships for such things as loss of wages or medical expenses and in some cases, future loss of salary if they are no longer able to carry out their job. In order to be considered a “maritime worker” it is important to note that an employer must spend more than 30% of their working time at sea. Jones Act accident lawyers are well versed in such dealings and are willing to take on your case if you feel that you have a claim to answer.

 

When it comes to boating, California law states that owners are required to maintain their vessels to a safe standard and prevents the operation of any vessel in a dangerous manner. This includes operating near or on public areas used by people such as divers, swimmers and water skiers;  steering recklessly, and speeding. All of these circumstances are in breech of the federal boat safety act of 1971 and an experienced Los Angeles accident attorney will also have a good working knowledge of this law.

 

If you have been involved in an incident and sustained injuries through no fault of your own it is important that you bring this to the attention of your Los Angeles accident attorney fairly quickly. The reason for this is so that they can investigate the incident whilst the evidence is fresh. In situations such as this speed is of the essence because evidence can be altered or even disappear which could render your claim useless. When choosing a lawyer you might want to look at a firm that has the resources and financial backing necessary to call on experts such as crash investigators and marine mechanics. These people will all report their findings back to your attorney who will then build a solid case for you.  So whether you have been involved in an accident and sustained injury through commercial shipping or pleasure boats, it pays to know that there are some really good Los Angeles accident attorneys out there who can help with your maritime law or boating accident claim.