Just last week, on October 17, a snorkeler was involved in a tragic accident when a speed boat struck him at the Haulover Inlet. According to Officer Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the victim, who has not been identified, suffered “critical” injuries from being run over by a go fast boat. According to reports, the individual was snorkeling with a friend in the water when they saw a golden speed boat–equipped with five motors–heading towards them. Officer Pino added the snorkelers tried to make their way back into their boat when the victim was struck by one of the boat’s multiple motor propellers. The victim was immediately taken to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Cruising is wildly popular. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people cruise from the several ports that line the United States coast. Often times, people have a good time on their vacations without incident. However, sometimes, vacations can go horribly wrong. Our law firm receives multiple calls each week from passengers who unfortunately were injured or from family members whose loved one tragically died while cruising. From our conversations, we have found that nearly all passengers have little or know knowledge about the provisions found within their cruise ticket.
Unfortunately, South Florida’s sunny climate is accompanied by a number of natural and man-made bodies of water that claim lives every day. Making matters worse–the victims are normally our most prized and precious possessions–our children. Just this week, five individuals drowned in a canal, pool or lake. Four of the five individuals were children under the age of ten years old.
Our law firm is receiving an increasing number of inquires about cruise passengers injuries occurring on tenders. Generally, when a cruise liner is too large to dock at a pier, it requires tenders to shuttle passengers back and forth from the ship. With ships increasing in size each year, tendering is becoming more and more prevalent. There are two basic ways passengers are tendered. One option is to lower the cruise ship’s life boats and use them as the tenders. The other option available to cruise lines is to contract with local tendering services which use small boats to shuttle the passengers.
Local news outlets are reporting that a young boy and a woman were killed in a boating accident on the Indian River near the Eau Gallie Causeway in Melbourne. Eyewitnesses at the scene stated that the 18-foot boat flipped over when attempting to assist a sailboat in distress. Four of the other people on the boat were rescued by good Samaritans as well as first responders. The victims of the boating accident, Ares Aronoyos and Stephanie Coleman were taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. Florida Fish and Wildlife is handling the investigation
