NW Injury Law Center represents people injured in boating and watercraft accidents across the Portland and Vancouver metro. We handle collisions between vessels, passengers thrown or injured on board, water-ski and tube injuries, propeller strikes, and drownings, on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the Columbia. Consultations are free and we work on a contingency fee.
Our office has handled many claims over the years and we are very familiar with the rights and responsibilities of watercraft operators.
Boating on the Columbia River, Lake Merwin, Lacamas Lake or other bodies of water in and around Vancouver, Washington can end in tragedy. These waterway accidents can result in serious and deadly injuries.
At NW Injury Law Center, our personal injury lawyers in Vancouver have spent more than 45 years representing boating accident victims and their families in Washington. Our law firm understands the complexities of these cases. Find out how we can help you during a free consultation.
Why Clients in Vancouver Trust NW Injury Law Center
- You will always be put first. Your boating accident attorney in Vancouver will provide individualized care and attention that makes you feel seen and heard.
- We are highly experienced boat accident lawyers in the Pacific Northwest. We have a long track record of getting real results for our clients when it matters the most.
- Our Vancouver boating accident attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t be billed any attorney's fees unless we win your case.
How a Boat Accident Attorney in Vancouver Can Help
An experienced boat accident lawyer in Vancouver can conduct a comprehensive investigation of your boating accident to determine who is at fault. From there, your lawyer can gather evidence to support your injury claim and take over communications with insurance companies on your behalf to negotiate a fair settlement. A lawyer will protect your best interests and fight for maximum compensation while you focus on healing from your boat accident injuries.
Common Causes of Boating Accidents in Vancouver
Boating accidents can describe collisions with other boats or vessels, a boat crashing into a fixed object such as a dock, boats capsizing or sinking, boat fires and explosions, and boats running aground. A boat accident can also refer to a harmful incident onboard a watercraft, such as a slip and fall or electrocution.
Harmful boat accidents can arise from various issues, such as:
- Careless or reckless boat operation
- Violated Vancouver boating laws
- Operating under the influence
- Speeding or loss of boat control
- Operator distraction or inattention
- Failure to keep a proper lookout
- Overloaded boat
- Boat equipment failure or poor maintenance
- Failure to check waterway and weather conditions
- Lack of emergency preparedness
Most of these problems are preventable. If someone was negligent, or failed to act with proper care, this party could be held liable (financially responsible) for a related boating accident and your injuries and losses.
Vancouver Boating Laws
The driver of a speed boat or other motorized water vessel can do a great deal of damage and injury to property or people if they don't follow the rules of the waterways. Boating laws require all operators of watercraft to educate themselves on the rules and require those under a certain age to obtain an operating certificate. The certificate is proof of their understanding of the rules and that they passed a minimum competency exam before getting on the water.
Unfortunately, boater certificate or not, some people do stupid things on the water. Consuming alcohol in excess is an example. One fact that proves true every fair-weathered holiday is that people think alcohol and boating go together. In Washington, boating under the influence is against the law, as is operating a vessel in a "reckless manner." When this happens and someone is injured, an experienced personal injury attorney should be consulted.
Where we handle boating accident claims
Most of the water our clients are injured on sits within an hour of the office. On the Columbia we take claims from the stretch running past Vancouver and Hayden Island, through the Camas and Washougal reach, and downriver toward Longview and the Lewis and Clark Bridge. On the Oregon side we handle incidents on the Willamette through Portland, along the Multnomah Channel, and around the Sauvie Island moorages.
Inland, we take claims from Vancouver Lake, Lacamas Lake, Lake Merwin and Yale Lake in Clark and Cowlitz counties, and from the reservoirs and river access points used heavily through the summer. Marinas and boat ramps produce their own category of injury, from dock falls to launch incidents, and those are premises claims as much as boating ones.
Because the Columbia is the state line, a single collision can involve a Washington vessel, an Oregon operator and an insurer in a third state. Which state’s law governs affects the filing deadline and the fault rule, and it is worth resolving early rather than after a deadline has run.
What should you do after a boating accident?
The sequence matters more on water than on a road, because evidence leaves quickly and there is no skid mark to photograph.
- Get everyone accounted for and get medical help. Cold water and head injuries both mask how serious an injury is.
- Do not leave. Both states require an operator involved in an accident to stay and give assistance and information. Leaving is a separate offense on top of the injury claim.
- Photograph the vessels before they are moved or trailered. Damage patterns are often the only proof of angle and speed.
- Get names for everyone aboard both boats. Passengers scatter faster than drivers at a road collision, and they are the witnesses.
- Note the conditions. Wake, chop, visibility, time of day, whether anyone was wearing a life jacket, and whether alcohol was being served or consumed.
- Record the registration numbers of every vessel involved, along with the operator’s insurer if they will give it.
When must a boating accident be reported?
Both states impose duties on the operator, and they are not the same.
Washington. Under RCW 79A.60.200 the operator of a vessel involved in a collision or other casualty must render all practical and necessary assistance to anyone affected, so far as they can do so without seriously endangering their own vessel or passengers, and must give the required accident information to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction. Helping someone cannot later be used as evidence that you were at fault, so there is no reason to hold back.
Oregon. Under ORS 830.475 an operator involved in an accident causing injury or death must stop at the scene, stay, and give their information; failing to do so is a chargeable offense. Under ORS 830.480 an accident causing injury, death, or property damage above the State Marine Board threshold has to be reported to the board. Where someone has died or gone missing from a boat, ORS 830.495 requires notification without delay by the quickest means available, to the sheriff, state police, Coast Guard or another law enforcement agency, and if the operator cannot make that call, everyone else aboard has to.
A missed report does not by itself end an injury claim, but it complicates one, and the official report is frequently the only contemporaneous record of what happened.
Who can be held responsible for a boating accident?
More than just the person at the wheel:
- The operator, for speed, inattention, operating under the influence, overloading, or an unsafe maneuver near swimmers, skiers or other vessels.
- The vessel owner, where they let someone unqualified or impaired take the controls, or kept the boat in poor condition.
- A rental or charter company, for renting to an unqualified operator, skipping the required safety briefing, or supplying a boat with defective or missing safety equipment.
- Another vessel whose wake, speed or course caused the incident, including in crowded channels where wake rules are routinely ignored.
- A manufacturer, where steering, throttle, fuel systems or propeller guarding failed rather than wore out.
- A marina or moorage, for unsafe docks, ramps or gangways.
Alcohol is present in a large share of serious boating injuries, and it can extend responsibility to whoever supplied it in some circumstances.
Who is allowed to operate a boat in Washington and Oregon?
Neither state issues a boating license in the way it issues a driver license, but both require a boater education card, and whether the operator held one is often relevant to an injury claim.
Washington requires, under RCW 79A.60.640, that anyone operating a motor-driven vessel of fifteen horsepower or more be at least twelve years old and carry a boater education card, unless exempt, or else be directly supervised by someone sixteen or older who holds one. The card requirement was phased in for all non-exempt boaters by January 1, 2016 under RCW 79A.60.630.
Oregon requires, under ORS 830.090, that an operator of a motorboat over ten horsepower be at least sixteen and hold a boating safety education card, or be directly supervised by someone sixteen or older who holds one. Under ORS 830.088 a person aged twelve to fifteen with a card may operate a motorboat of ten horsepower or less, or a larger one under the direct supervision of a qualified adult. ORS 830.092 exempts renters aged sixteen or over who complete a dockside safety checklist, commercial fishing license holders, Coast Guard licensed operators, and visitors carrying an approved card from another state.
An operator who was too young, uncertified, or unsupervised when they injured someone is not automatically liable, but it is powerful evidence, and it can matter to the rental company’s responsibility too.
How boating injury claims get paid
Boat insurance is not compulsory in either Washington or Oregon the way auto insurance is, which is the single biggest practical difference between a boating claim and a car crash claim.
Where coverage exists it usually comes from a dedicated watercraft policy, and for smaller boats sometimes from a homeowner policy that extends to vessels under a certain size or horsepower. Rental and charter operators carry their own commercial coverage. Where the operator has nothing, recovery may depend on their personal assets, on another responsible party such as a rental company or manufacturer, or on your own coverage.
Health insurers and, in work-related incidents, workers’ compensation carriers will generally assert a right to be repaid out of any recovery. Sorting out who has a claim on the money, and reducing those claims where the law allows, is part of the case rather than an afterthought.
Boating accident questions
Is boat insurance required in Washington or Oregon?
No. Neither state mandates liability insurance for recreational vessels the way both do for cars. That is why identifying every potentially responsible party matters so much in a boating case: the operator may have no coverage at all, while a rental company, a manufacturer or a marina does.
What if I was a passenger on the boat that caused the accident?
You can still bring a claim. Passengers are among the most seriously injured people in boating incidents and are frequently reluctant to pursue a claim because the operator is a friend or relative. In practice the claim is made against an insurance policy rather than against the person, which is what the coverage exists for.
How long do I have to bring a boating injury claim?
Three years in Washington and two years in Oregon for most injury claims, so which state governs genuinely matters on a river that forms the border. Some incidents involving commercial vessels or navigable waters can fall under federal maritime law, which runs on different rules again. Getting that assessed early is worth doing.
What does it cost to hire a boating accident attorney?
The consultation is free and we work on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. We advance the cost of investigation and experts, which in boating cases often means marine reconstruction and vessel inspection.
Liability for a Boat Accident in Vancouver
Liability for a boating accident in Washington will depend on the circumstances, including the cause of the incident and the applicable maritime laws. Maritime laws are federal and state rules that govern all navigable waterways in Vancouver.
Depending on the situation, the following parties could be held responsible for a boat accident:
- Boat owner
- Boat operator
- Maintenance crew
- Boat tour company
- Contractor or subcontractor
- Vessel or part manufacturer
- The government responsible for the waterway
A lawyer from NW Injury Law Center can help you identify the liable party or parties in your case. Then, we can gather evidence of fault, such as incident reports, witness statements, expert testimony, photographs and videos, the operator's certifications and crash history, and boat maintenance records.