Eight People Arrested for Drunken Boating

Officers with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources were busy on the weekend before the Fourth of July scouring the waterways for drunken boaters. Their efforts were not in vain. Officers arrested eight people for boating under the influence and issued another 102 citations, according to a story in the Columbus Dispatch. Officers also issued nearly 900 warnings.

Boating Under the Influence

Ohio’s law on operating a boat after consuming alcohol is similar to its law regulating driving under the influence. Boat operators cannot have a blood alcohol level 0.08 or higher. If they do, they have committed a first-degree misdemeanor and could face six months in jail. The law also applies to people operating canoes and kayaks.

There are very good reasons for Ohio’s crackdown on drunken boating. Drinking alcohol on a boat is the leading factor in boating fatalities. Alcohol can impair a person’s reflexes, vision, and reasoning ability, as well as make it difficult to swim if a person is tossed overboard. For these reasons, passengers on the boat also should not drink.

Boating Injuries

If your operator is under the influence, then the boat could strike the shore, a rock, another boat, or another boat’s wake. Any collision could send passengers colliding with each other, or they could end up thrown overboard.

As a result of collisions, many people suffer:

• Fractures, including compound fractures
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Soft-tissue injuries and bruising
• Cuts or lacerations
• Back injuries
• Neck injuries
• Drowning

Even if victims survive, they face the prospect of months of painful recovery and missed work.

Holding Drunk Boaters Accountable

Whether you were riding in the same boat as the drunk operator or were in a different boat, you can bring a personal injury lawsuit to receive compensation for your injuries. Boating under the influence is also a crime, but injured victims can sustain a private lawsuit in civil court to receive compensation.

At Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, our Toledo boat accident attorneys know how to collect the right evidence to make an airtight case. We can:

• Collect witness statements
• Obtain police reports and blood test records
• Question the boat operator under oath to find out how much he or she was drinking
• Investigate the boat to determine the cause of the crash
• Consult with medical experts to fully understand and document your injuries
• Locate any applicable insurance policies
• Submit a claim to an insurer for compensation

Based on our experience, we are fully prepared to negotiate a settlement on your behalf but are not afraid of the courtroom if filing a lawsuit is necessary to vindicate your rights.

Protect Your Rights. Contact a Boat Accident Attorney in Toledo

If you were injured on one of Ohio’s many waterways, we want to hear from you. Injured victims need compensation when someone else’s wrongful conduct causes them pain and financial loss. At Lafferty, Gallagher, & Scott, our boat accident attorneys are pleased to offer a free, no-strings consultation to learn more about your case. Contact us today.