Milledgeville Boat Accident Lawyer

Hurt in a boating accident on Lake Sinclair, Lake Oconee or the Oconee River? Call our Milledgeville office at (478) 254-2665 for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover money for you.

Milledgeville Boat Accident Lawyer

Lake Sinclair lies just north of Milledgeville, and on summer weekends it fills with ski boats, pontoons, fishing boats and personal watercraft. Lake Oconee is a short drive north. When a boat crash, a propeller strike or a fall from a moving vessel causes a serious injury, the claim works differently from a car wreck: different safety laws, different investigators and often different insurance. Our Milledgeville office represents people hurt on the water in Baldwin, Putnam and Hancock counties and across middle Georgia.

Common Causes of Boating Injuries

Boating under the influence. Georgia’s limit for operating a boat is the same 0.08 blood alcohol level used on the road (O.C.G.A. § 52-7-12), and alcohol is a factor in many serious lake crashes.
Inexperienced or untrained operators. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1998 must complete an approved boater education course before operating a motorized vessel in Georgia. Rental boats and borrowed boats are often run by people who have not.
Excess speed and no lookout in coves, near docks and in the narrow channels around bridges and marinas.
Personal watercraft (Jet Skis and similar) that turn sharply, carry riders without life jackets, or are operated by young or inexperienced riders.
Towing accidents involving tubers, skiers and wakeboarders, including propeller injuries when a boat backs toward someone in the water.
Unsafe docks, marinas and rental equipment that were poorly maintained.

What to Do After a Boating Accident

Get medical care right away and call 911 for anyone who is hurt, missing or unconscious.
Serious boating accidents on Georgia lakes are investigated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division. Ask for the officer’s name and how to get a copy of the incident report.
Get the name, phone number and insurance information of every operator and the registration number on each boat.
Take photos of the boats, the location, the weather and your injuries, and get contact information from witnesses on shore or other boats.
Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company before you talk with a lawyer.

Who Pays for a Boating Injury?

Most boating injury claims are paid through the boat owner’s watercraft or homeowner’s policy. Some homeowner’s policies exclude larger or faster boats, so the insurance picture has to be checked early. A marina or rental company can also be responsible if it rented a boat to an untrained operator, failed to maintain its equipment or ran an unsafe dock. When a crash happens on navigable waters, federal maritime law may also apply, which can change the deadlines and the rules of the case.

Georgia uses modified comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if you are 50 percent or more at fault (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). Most Georgia injury claims must be filed within two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33), and a death on the water may give the family a wrongful death claim.

Boat Accident Questions

The boat’s operator was a friend. Can I still make a claim?

Yes. The claim is usually paid by the owner’s insurance, not out of your friend’s pocket, and it is often the only way to cover medical bills and lost work.

What does it cost to hire you?

Nothing up front. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee, which means you owe no attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery for you. The consultation is free.

Our Milledgeville Office

Sessions & Fleischman, LLC
300 E Montgomery St
Milledgeville, GA 31061
Phone: (478) 254-2665

See our Milledgeville office page for directions and the other cases we handle in Baldwin County.

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