Dallas Boat Propeller Accident Lawyers

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a boating accident involving a propeller in the Dallas area or in Texas, don’t wait until it is too late to speak to a lawyer about your rights and legal options.

Boating accidents can often take a terrible toll on you, your health, your family, and finances. An experienced and qualified boating accident lawyer can help you to understand your legal options and win the compensation that you need to recover lost wages and pay off escalating medical bills.

The Dallas boating accident lawyers of The Benton Law Firm are here to help. With decades of experience and a team of legal professionals dedicated to helping those put in a tough position in personal injury cases, we will give you the fierce representation that you need to come away victorious in your claim.

Contact the Dallas boat propeller accident lawyers of The Benton Law Firm today at (214) 777-7777 to speak with a member of our legal team, or start a live chat with one of our online representatives here on our website.

Why do I need a lawyer for my boating accident case?

An effective boating accident lawyer can often make the difference in your case when you are up against uncompromising insurance companies. They will have the knowledge of personal injury law (and maritime law, if and when applicable) to help you understand your legal options and craft a strong case that gives you the best chance of winning compensation.

Working with insurance companies can be challenging and even the most experienced lawyers cannot guarantee compensation from your claim. However, it is a lawyer that has the knowledge and experience to effectively communicate with insurance companies. In almost any case, insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind. They seek to get the case dismissed or the settlement amount decreased, however, they can, including resorting to questionable tactics such as monitoring your activities to establish that your injuries were less severe than you claim or that the specific accident involving your claim was not the cause of your injuries.

An experienced injury lawyer will help you to avoid these traps and deal with insurance companies on your behalf, giving you the time you need to focus on recovery.

How can The Benton Law Firm help me?

The Benton Law Firm provides the best combination of experience and resources to bring you a dedicated personal injury legal team that can handle the toughest of boating accident cases. The firm was founded on the idea that in personal injury cases, those who file claims are often up against corporate lawyers or insurance companies, who wish to intimidate their opposition with superior legal resources.

Jeff Benton, a founding partner, understands this and has assembled a legal team with the resources to push past corporate lawyers and insurance companies. With this team come significant results, winning a number of seven-figure settlements for our clients.

This has placed The Benton Law Firm into the Multi-Million and Million Dollar Advocates Forum, reserved for the elite of personal injury lawyers. Named to the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine in 2018, Jeff Benton and his team of legal experts across the state of Texas are ready to work with you on your boating accident case.

With this team comes exceptional service. We boast a perfect 10/10 rating on legal services website Avvo, which aggregates experience, reviews, and case results. Our past clients have also provided more qualitative testimony, which you can see for yourself here.

Types of propeller accident cases we handle

Given that boating accidents can occur for a number of reasons, accidents involving the propeller can also occur due to a number of factors, but is most often attributable to boat operator inexperience. Some of the types of cases that personal injury attorneys often see involving boat propeller accidents include:

• Falling/tripping into the water: If there are unmarked hazards on the boat such as a slippery surface, you could be at an elevated risk of slipping and falling into the water, striking the propeller. There is also a tripping risk on the floor of the boat, such as with the tiller or other loose objects inside of the boat.
• Reckless steering or throttling: Particularly if the boat operator is inexperienced on intoxicated, they may begin to steer recklessly, which can throw people off of the boat and towards the propeller blades. Additionally, revving the throttle too intensely or unexpectedly can result in people falling off of the boat, especially towards the propeller if they are seated in the back.
• Failure to shut off the engine: While this most often happens with inexperienced boat operators, even experienced operators can forget to wear the cutoff switch lanyard, standard on most boats, that shuts the engine off automatically in the vent of severe turbulence or if the boat operator leaves from the controls area. Additionally, they may be slow to react to someone or something that causes a hazard in the water and may not know how to shut off the engine in an emergency situation.
• Unsafe boating practices: There are a number of unsafe boating practices that can contribute to a propeller accident for people in the water. Letting individuals near the propeller or stern when launching the boat presents a massive safety risk, along with not checking for individuals, such as water skiers, behind the boat before applying the throttle. Similarly, reversing the engine without checking for water skiers, divers or swimmers behind the boat can present a high risk of a propeller accident.

How do I know who is at fault in my case?

Proving fault in a propeller injury case, much like any personal injury case, is a process that requires you, the plaintiff, to prove several things. Ultimately, you are proving that the defendant was acting negligently, a term that carries specific legal connotations. To prove negligence and therefore fault, we must prove the following:

• The defendant had a legal duty to provide some layer of protection, for example, to warn you about the presence of a propeller. This generally extends to a duty to provide something, such as a warning, or keep away safety risks.
• By acting (or failing to act) a certain way, the defendant breached their legal duty.
• The specific action in the breach of duty to care caused you or your loved one to be injured or worse. In other words, there needs to be a clear cause-and-effect relationship between this action and the injuries.
• Due to this injury, you have incurred specific damages. For the purposes of a claim, these often need to be financial to prove fault an obtain compensation.

Do I receive any different sorts of protections if I am a maritime worker?

As a maritime worker, you do receive some additional employment protections under the Jones Act, though, which specific protections apply will depend on the details of your case.

Along with the Jones Act, there is also often a legal question on boating accidents whether or not the case falls under the jurisdiction of maritime law, which in the United States can be very complicated and only apply in specific cases. You are more likely to have these things come up if you were involved in an accident off of the Texas Gulf Coast or in federal waters, though it is always best to speak with a lawyer about the details of the case to see if any of this applies to you.

Is it possible to file a claim against the manufacturer of the propeller or engine?

This will depend almost solely on the facts of your case. In the event that there is a known recall, or that we can clearly establish that a defect in the propeller caused the accident, it is certainly a possibility. In these circumstances, it is always best to speak with a lawyer first.

Contact us today about your case

If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident involving a boat propeller, the Dallas-area boating accident lawyers of The Benton Law Firm are here to help you with your case. Combining experience with unmatched resources, we are here to give you personalized attention to your case and help you win the compensation that you need to return to normal life and support your family.

It is important to note that the statute of limitations for almost all boating accident cases and personal injury cases in general in Texas is 2 years. The settlement process can take a substantial amount of time, so it is in your best interest to contact us as soon as possible about your case so we can help you understand your legal options.

Contact the Dallas boating accident lawyers of The Benton Law Firm today at (214) 777-7777 to speak with a member of our legal team about your case, or start a live chat with one of our online representatives.