Boating Injury

Pregnant Woman And Young Son Killed In North Carolina Boating Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

May 14, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

This Memorial Day weekend ended in tragedy for the family of one pregnant woman and her young son who both died on High Rock Lake in North Carolina in a terrible boating accident. According to police, the woman and her three-year-old son died when a speedboat crashed into their pontoon boat.

Authorities say Melissa Chambers Britt and her son died in the terrible accident on High Rock Lake, located in Davidson County, NC. According to a police spokesperson, the speedboat that smashed into Britt’s boat was traveling at more than 50 miles per hour at the time of the accident.

Witnesses say Britt’s husband, William, who was not injured in the accident jumped in the water after the crash to save his wife and young son. The boy was taken to the hospital, but later died of his injuries. Sadly, William was not able to find his wife’s body which was only recovered several hours later by rescue crews. Police say Britt’s brother, Michael Chambers, was also in the boat at the time of the accident was taken by helicopter to a hospital for treatment of serious head injuries.

However, police say that none of the four people in the speedboat driven by Michael Greene were injured in the crash. According to witnesses, Greene became aware of the pontoon boat too late to slow down and tried to turn away but the two vessels were already too close together to avoid an accident. Police say they do not believe alcohol played a role in the accident, but do believe Greene was distracted behind the wheel. Authorities say they will make a final decision about possible criminal charges against Greene next week.

Charlotte Woman’s Beach Accident Should Raise Concerns for North Carolina Sunbathers

April 5, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A Charlotte woman’s Florida vacation turned into a nightmare. Rinda Mizelle was enjoying her vacation on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida when her time in the sun was ruined. She was run over by an Ocean Rescue pickup truck. She was sunbathing on the beach around 3:00 PM. She was laying on the sand with shorts over her face to keep the sun out of her eyes. The next thing she felt were tires roll across her body. Lifeguards rescued her and she was immediately transported to Broward General Medical Center. She was treated for her injuries and released. After this incident she filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Lauderdale alleging negligence.

The city has responded by reevaluating its policies concerning vehicles on beach. The mayor, Jack Seilier, said, “I can safely say we’ll evaluate that policy… We want to make sure that people have the best possible experience on our beaches. And if there’s some issue with the safe use of vehicles on the beach, then we need to address it.” The driver of the pickup truck has been placed on administrative leave until an investigation is conducted into the accident.

Opinions regarding large trucks on the beach are split. Some believe that such large vehicles prevent drivers from seeing people who are laid out on the beach. Others believe that they are necessary to carry the lifeguard’s equipment from one end of the beach to the other in a timely manner. In some emergency situations, lifeguards and safety personnel need boards, defibrillators, and other emergency equipment necessary to save someone’s life.

Emergency officials in Fort Lauderdale are saying that having a sunbather run over by a beach vehicle is unheard of, but there have been other similar incidents in Florida, in both Miami and Volusia County. Mizelle’s attorney, John M. Phillips, finds it extremely troubling that this has happened to more than one sunbather on Florida’s beaches.

Severely Injured North Carolina Woman Files Complaint

January 24, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

WCNC.com has reported that a woman who suffered a horrific trauma in a boating accident has just recently filed a lawsuit against the driver of the boat, the owner of the boat, and the manufacturer of the boat. According the suit, the victim, Deondra Scott, of Charlotte, had her right arm completely severed by the boat’s propeller when she jumped off the back of the boat into Lake Norman.

The accident took place in June during the annual Lake Bash, a yearly party where boaters come together to have fun, dance, listen to music and party. The boat that Scott was on was rented and driven by Dennis Allen. Allen rented the boat from David Orzolek. Prior to the day of the accident, Allen had no experience operating a boat. When the police responded to the scene of the accident in June, they determined that alcohol was not involved in the accident even though there was alcohol was present on the boat. The boat was, however, filled beyond capacity and it did not have enough life vests for the number of passengers on the boat.

Deondra Scott, along with some other passengers on the boat, jumped off the back of the boat and went into the water directly behind the boat. The complaint claims that all of the passengers who jumped into the boat were under the impression that the boat had been completely powered off. The plaintiff was swimming back toward the boat when other passengers of the boat realized that the engine was still running. One of the passengers tried to tell Allen to cut the engine, but Allen panicked and put the boat in reverse and hit the plaintiff with the boat’s propeller. Then, because Allen panicked again, he put the throttle in a forward gear and hit the plaintiff again with the propeller. As a result of being struck twice by the boat’s spinning propeller, the plaintiff suffered “1) a laceration to the right arm, which has since been amputated; 2) laceration to the breasts, which have since been amputated; 3) serious lacerations to both legs; 4) a punctured lung; 5) severed sternum.”

Scott’s attorneys filed the lawsuit in January. Scott is requesting damages for her medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, excessive scaring and loss of a limb. Both the driver and the owner of the boat have been named as defendants in the suit, in addition to the manufacturer. The suit alleges that the driver, Allen, and the owner, Orzolek, were negligent. It also charges the manufacturer of the boat, Chaparral, with a defect in design and breach of the duty to warn. The complaint alleges that the manufacturer of the boat promotes swimming directly behind the boat, but failed to warn of the dangers of swimming behind the boat while it is running, i.e., the spinning propeller that can dismember limbs.