Here comes the lawyers

[Jaxfishgyd]

Another reason Lawyers earn their reputations, now it's the boat makers fault for the accident.........

Lawsuit faults boat’s design in Palm Valley crash
Attorney for 3 survivors says too many people are allowed up front.

By Paul Pinkham
Story updated at 9:09 AM on Sunday, Apr. 26, 2009

A lawyer for three survivors of a fatal Easter boat crash in Palm Valley has sued the vessel’s manufacturer, saying its bow-rider design is inherently unsafe.

Francis and Joshua Moore and Jamie Hole, all of California, were seriously injured when the Crownline 225BR they were passengers on struck a tugboat moored in the Intracoastal Waterway, according to the product liability lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Jacksonville.

Five people died and nine more were injured in the crash north of the Palm Valley bridge.

Attorney Rod Sullivan, who represented the Moores, Hole and two other injured passengers, said Crownline promotes the 225BR as capable of safely transporting 12 people, but that means five people have to sit in the bow well forward of the boat’s windscreen. He said several states, including Florida, along with the U.S. Coast Guard criticize bow-riding as unsafe.

“It’s just not safe to ride forward of the windscreen on a boat traveling 30 to 35 mph,” Sullivan said. “It blocks the driver’s view and subjects those riding in the bow to being ejected.”

Francis Moore and Hole were thrown from the boat and into the side of the tug, the lawsuit says. Joshua Moore was launched into the windscreen. He was released from the hospital Saturday, and Sullivan said Hole is scheduled to be released today. Francis Moore remains hospitalized with head injuries, Sullivan said.

Though there were 14 passengers, Sullivan said that didn’t contribute to the accident. He said witnesses told him the boat driver’s view was obstructed by people on the bow. The woman driving the boat was chosen for that role because she was sober, Sullivan said.

Sullivan didn’t rule out further litigation involving other causes of action.

“This cause of action appeared clear,” Sullivan said. He represents two other survivors; the rest are represented by different lawyers.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

 

[shaurette]

Remember always sue the guy with the money!

 

[MikeP]

I'm trying to figure how it's the boatmaker's fault that the operator drove the craft into a stationary tugboat. Judge should kick them all out of court and fine the people filing the suit for contempt of court... But he won't.

Heck, should be the same as the penalty for piracy...which is what it is.

 

[Boatsb]

The judge will not penalize a lawyer because he is one.

 

[Angela]

Penalizing the lawyer for bringing a frivolous claim is permissible....that's called "sanctions." Proving a claim is entirely frivolous is another hurdle.

It just amazes me how stupid, irresponsible people always think that their lack of intelligence, common sense, responsibility, or prudence is always somebody else's fault. How can a boat manufacturer police what a user does with their product or how the user loads up the boat? I guess the ideal outcome would be that all open bow boats are inherently dangerous and should be yanked off the market to prevent Darwin-ism. That would sound about right for our government these days. I'd like to be on THAT jury!

This is akin to running your car over railroad tracks with an approaching train, and when you get whacked, it should somehow be Ford's fault. Yeesh!

 

[MikeP]

I guess it might be Ford's fault because they don't specifically tell you that the auto was not designed to protect passengers from impacts with 120 ton locomotives (plus weight of all the cars...). Therefore, someone might race the train to the crossing, expecting the side airbags to do the job.

 

[GJH]

Judges penalize lawyers all the time, most frequently by throwing out their case, ending the income. In some states there are other sanctions; there has been a back lash against silly litigation, not that it has been eliminated. Judges are elected in Florida, BTW.

But what is going on here is a guy working on spec to see if he can scrounge some "go away" money from various insurance companies. I'll bet whoever owns the tug and barge are in his sights (and probably vice-versa), along with whoever can mark and regulate the waterway there.

As we all know, this process has driven the cost of many products way up, and driven manufacturers in certain industries literally out of business. A guy I know wants to design and produce a new type of bicycle for use in cities and this is one of his biggest obstacles.

 

[Sparky1]

"The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages."

That alone tells me this is a frivilous attempt at getting some pocket change in an out of court settlement. Who the hell has ever sued a manufacturer for $75K when multiple deaths were involved while claiming negligence?

Was the $75K a misprint or should it have read $750K?

 

[saltshaker]

If the passengers riding on the bow were obstructing the view of the pilot, why was she going 30-35 mph? Seems like a lot of bad judgment and circumstances led to this very unfortunate accident. I do have to agree that a rating of 12 passengers seems high for a 22ft boat.

 

[Capt K]

"The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages."

Was the $75K a misprint or should it have read $750K?

Usually, the minimum amount stated in the lawsuit is the threshold amount that is needed to sue in that particular court. For example, in Ct. most lawsuit writs for motor vehicle accident lawsuits state "more than $15,000 in damages". This is required to get the lawsuit into superior court. The settlement could be $1.00 or a million, it doesn't matter.

K

 

[Angela]

Usually, the minimum amount stated in the lawsuit is the threshold amount that is needed to sue in that particular court. For example, in Ct. most lawsuit writs for motor vehicle accident lawsuits state "more than $15,000 in damages". This is required to get the lawsuit into superior court. The settlement could be $1.00 or a million, it doesn't matter.

K

Capt K is correct. You never statedyour real expectations in a Complaint...just "over xxx" has to be stated in order to get you jurisdiction in that particular Court. It is usually the difference between "small claims court" and "big boy court."

Oh, and last time I checked, Federal Court's jurisdiction was $75,000. I bet this has been filed in Federal Court based upon the demand and that they have the required diversity.

 

[Sparky1]

K and Ang, I was corrected by an attorney on another site and you are both indeed correct. As for the crash and subsequent lawsuit, it all boils down to personal responsibility.

I wonder how many manufacturers of bowriders have warning placards located in the bow area as to the dangers of having riders there?

I'd bet they all will now, but it won't change anything in terms of people doing stupid things on the water.

 

[ThirdHatt]

The cook from the Maersk ship that the Somali pirates attacked is suing the owner of the ship. He claims that the owner intentionally put them at harm. Guess how much he is suing for? You guessed it, $75k.

 

[67hat34c]

We insure a condo assn in south fl. On intercoastal in WPB area. Man had his boat out on church outing and pulling a couple of teens on tubes. He slung them into the sea wall at the condo property. Kids were badly injured. Well the filed suit against the condo assn because they did not clean off the barnicles and did not put out warning signs and markers warning of the sea wall. This case is still pending.

 

[stormchaser]

We insure a condo assn in south fl. On intercoastal in WPB area. Man had his boat out on church outing and pulling a couple of teens on tubes. He slung them into the sea wall at the condo property. Kids were badly injured. Well the filed suit against the condo assn because they did not clean off the barnicles and did not put out warning signs and markers warning of the sea wall. This case is still pending.

This is a joke, right? Actually, I bet it's not...which is pathetic. What happened to individual responsibility?

 

[Boatsb]

This is a joke, right? Actually, I bet it's not...which is pathetic. What happened to individual responsibility?

individual responsibility went away when the dumocrats took over congress.

 

[stormchaser]

Oh knock it off...Tort reform has been needed for DECADES. It's not a product of the dems or pubes...it's a product of English common law practices allowed to go awry since the 1940s. See sig...

 

[Sparky1]

We insure a condo assn in south fl. On intercoastal in WPB area. Man had his boat out on church outing and pulling a couple of teens on tubes. He slung them into the sea wall at the condo property. Kids were badly injured. Well the filed suit against the condo assn because they did not clean off the barnicles and did not put out warning signs and markers warning of the sea wall. This case is still pending.

I remember you talking about that earlier. Gee, what a fine Christian example to set for those teens. Welcome to the me generation folks where it's always somebody else's fault when we screw up.

 

[67hat34c]

No joke, I handled this claim for a short time before it was transferred to heavy litigation adjuster who handles 1mm plus claims.

I investigated to verify who owns the seawall , called corp of engineers in an attempt to verify permitting etc to see if wall was approved etc.

West Palm is a very very liberal venue so who knows what will happen with that one.

 

[saltshaker]

We insure a condo assn in south fl. On intercoastal in WPB area. Man had his boat out on church outing and pulling a couple of teens on tubes. He slung them into the sea wall at the condo property. Kids were badly injured. Well the filed suit against the condo assn because they did not clean off the barnicles and did not put out warning signs and markers warning of the sea wall. This case is still pending.

I guess NJ boaters should sue the Army Corps of engineers for any damages incurred while boating along the Jersey Shore. They changed the ocean floor, which will effect sea state, when they replenished the beach several years back. Last fall I lost the trim on one of my spray rails due to some heavy seas. Guess I should call a lawyer!