Boat Accident Lawyers
Water-centric sports and activities are a significant attraction for residents and visitors to Las Vegas and its surrounding areas. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, provides a refuge from the desert heat to enjoy swimming, jet skiing, boating, and fishing. With millions of people recreating on this lake each year, tragedy and personal injury often strike, leaving personal struggles, devastation, and financial hardship in their wake.
Experiencing a Las Vegas boating accident can leave you uncertain of your next steps. Focusing on recovery can become overshadowed by medical debt, the need to earn a living, and the everyday demands of life that turn into mountains of responsibility requiring your attention. Reach out to the experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law if you are faced with navigating a boat accident injury claim. A boat accident lawyer will lead you through the legal process. Serving clients who have been injured on the rivers and lakes near Las Vegas, particularly Lake Mead, is our passion as we strive to help injured boat accident victims reclaim control of their lives through trusted legal representation.
Why Choose Our Las Vegas, NV Boat Accident Lawyers
When you have been injured in a boating accident on Lake Mead, trial experience is one of the most beneficial qualities to seek out in a boating accident lawyer. Our team is led by experienced trial attorneys who are proven to represent significant, influential companies through legal challenges. Their experience defending large corporations gives them a unique insider perspective on how best to represent each client, taking on personal injury cases with authority and preparedness. When you choose to work with a boat accident attorney at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law, you can expect:
- Committed representation and respect concerning your needs
- Bilingual services to provide accessible legal options to the Spanish-speaking community
- An insider’s perspective into the insurance business and the strategies that are used to reduce claim compensation
- Extensive knowledge of laws applying to medical issues and personal injury
- Open communication allowing you to ask questions and get answers
- An understanding of the possible outcomes in a case, allowing you to make the best personal decisions
- A strong negotiator who will strive for the fairest compensation available to you in a personal injury settlement
- A fierce litigator who stands ready to file a civil action, taking a case to court
Proving fault in a Lake Mead or Las Vegas boat accident will require a legal representative willing to go the distance to uncover the often questionable events surrounding a boating accident. The boat accident attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law are committed to serving clients with the dedication each claim deserves, seeing it through to completion.
How Can a Boat Accident Attorney in Las Vegas, NV, Help Me?
Many boat accident injuries are severe and financially debilitating. Having a boat accident lawyer who will comprehensively evaluate your claim may provide a better outcome for compensation. Insurance companies recognize that significant injuries will cost them, and quickly settling a claim can serve to reduce the compensation they must pay out and that you deserve. The boating accident attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law can provide these critical services to you:
- An extensive investigation into the cause of a boating accident
- Sound documentation of your claim to support your compensation needs
- A complex evaluation of the damages you have suffered, including potential future medical costs
- Mediation between you and the insurance company, protecting your claim against coerced statements and forced settlement tactics
- Effectively identifying all responsible parties in a Lake Mead boating accident
- An awareness of all the legal deadlines impacting your case, ensuring you the right to take legal action
- Working with expert witnesses to support your case
Working with a boat accident lawyer to negotiate an insurance settlement is not legally required. However, boat accident victims may benefit significantly from the resources we provide and our ability to negotiate the fairest settlement possible, allowing clients to recover financially and seek the quality medical care required to recover. Furthermore, our clients owe nothing unless we secure compensation, allowing you to feel confident working with us.
What is the Cost to Work With a Lake Mead Boating Accident Lawyer?
We understand you may already face tremendous financial loss from a Las Vegas, NV boating accident. However, successfully recovering compensation may depend on a thorough representation of your claim, focusing on the unique factors contributing to your injuries. At Mitchell Rogers Injury Law, we only collect payment from our clients once we secure compensation through a settlement, verdict, or another form of acceptable payment. We also schedule a free consultation to assess the strength of your claim and the optimal approaches to your financial recovery.
Challenging Factors in a Lake Mead Boating Accident
Boating accidents do not benefit from many of the evidence sources available in Las Vegas car accidents, potentially making it more challenging to determine negligence. These missing elements make it essential that you work with boat accident attorneys who will remain committed to fact-finding and determining the cause of a boat accident. What factors may contribute to these accidents, making boat accidents in Las Vegas more challenging to investigate?
- Many boats on Las Vegas lakes do not have black box technology recording a watercraft operator’s actions moments before the accident
- Traffic cameras, surveillance video footage, and other visual evidence generally do not exist
- Personal watercraft operators may be as young as 14
- Though necessary knowledge, many boaters are unfamiliar with boating navigational rules
- Boat speeds in an area may span a much larger range than car speeds on a highway
- Boat traffic patterns may not be clearly defined and can become unpredictable
- Regulations by multiple agencies and states may apply, including the National Park Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), and Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) because of Lake Mead’s location in both states
- US Coast Guard reporting laws apply to boat accidents involving a Nevada wrongful death
Your boating accident in Las Vegas or on Lake Mead deserves the detailed attention we give each case and client, applying solid evidence and sound legal knowledge to help you secure the compensation you need for recovery. Because of our diligence, we are recognized negotiators and trial lawyers using facts about a boating accident along with our legal experience to take on the most challenging cases.
Steps to Take After a Las Vegas, NV Boating Accident
Following a Las Vegas or Lake Mead boating accident, your actions can save a life and protect your claim. Calling or radioing for assistance will alert law enforcement or the US Coast Guard to the emergency. Failing to follow reporting procedures may impact an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Take these steps after calling 911 if you are involved in a Nevada boat accident:
- Ensure everyone’s safety to reduce drowning potential
- Exchange contact and insurance information with a boat’s owner or operator
- Obtain the name of the commercial company and a contact name for the business if a tour or rental boat is involved
- Take photos of your injuries, damage to the water vessel or property, and any posted signs or buoys
- Request contact information for eyewitnesses to the boating incident
- Speak with law enforcement to share your experience of what occurred
- Speak with our boat accident lawyers
Boat accidents that meet reporting requirements must be reported to the Nevada Department of Wildlife in a Nevada Boating Accident and Casualty Report.
Who May be Liable in Las Vegas, NV Boating Accidents
The at-fault party in a boating accident will be liable for the damages they cause resulting from negligence. Nevada follows modified comparative negligence laws (NRS §41.141), allowing for a proportionate recovery of damages when the injured party is less than 50% liable for a boating accident. The injured party’s compensation will then be reduced by the percentage of fault they contributed to the accident. Possible liable parties in boating accidents on Lake Mead and other Las Vegas lakes and rivers include the following:
- Another boat operator
- A commercial boat company
- Government agency
- Boat parts manufacturer
- Boat maintenance departments or companies
The at-fault party’s insurance company may attempt to attribute more fault to your actions than you deserve in a boating accident. These strategies allow the successful reduction of your compensation. Our boating accident lawyers will fight back against unfair accusations of negligence.
Possible Damages You May Recover in a Boating Accident
The costs of property damage and medical attention after a boating accident on Lake Mead add up quickly, with some expenses continuing indefinitely, depending on the severity of your injuries. Without knowing the damages that are available to you and the value of these damages, your settlement claim may be drastically reduced. Without a boating accident attorney willing to invest in your recovery, a verdict may not adequately reflect your compensation potential. Some of the possible damages you may recover include:
- All medical costs, including future surgeries and rehabilitative expenses
- Lost income, wages, and potential bonuses
- Diminished or lost earning capacity
- Property repair or replacement
- Pain and suffering
- Out-of-pocket expenses, such as medical equipment and transportation costs
- Loss of enjoyment of life
The boating accident attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law care about your recovery and our impact on maximizing your compensation. We believe in the difference our team can make for you. When a wrongful death in a Las Vegas, NV, boating accident claims the life of a loved one, we offer compassionate but fierce representation to assist in financial recovery. Punitive damages may be available to punish the liable party in a boating accident when egregious damages or negligence occurs.
How Long Do I Have to Seek Compensation for a Las Vegas, NV Boating Accident?
After suffering damages from a Lake Mead boating accident, taking the necessary steps to seek compensation is critical. Nevada’s statute of limitations (NRS §11.190.)4)(e)) for personal injury allows two years from the date the accident occurred to seek damages. Exceptions to these statutes may exist, such as when the injured party is a minor.
Failing to contact a boating accident lawyer in Las Vegas as soon as possible may impact your ability to secure evidence for your claim. Some evidence is time-sensitive, allowing for its erasure, deletion, or destruction after specific time frames. Additionally, memories of boating accidents begin to fade, making eyewitness and personal statements less reliable.
Common Boating Accident Injuries on Lake Mead
The construction of most boats and the lack of safety features leave its passengers vulnerable to significant injuries. More severe injuries may take months of focused effort on recovery and specialist treatments to regain your health. The financial ability to seek quality care is vital to a successful claim or lawsuit. Injuries that may occur in a boating accident include:
- Non-fatal drowning
- Severe lacerations and cuts
- Broken or dislocated bones
- Compound fractures that expose the body to infection
- Spinal cord injury or paralysis
- Traumatic brain injury
- Internal damage and bleeding
- Fatal injuries, such as drowning
The injuries you sustain in a boating accident can vary in range and severity. No matter your struggle, Mitchell Rogers Injury Law is ready to assist with your recovery.
Common Causes of Boat Accidents
Most injuries resulting from boating accidents are preventable. Human error and irresponsible boating practices contribute significantly to these events. You may have a Lake Mead boating accident claim when you are injured by the following actions considered factors in accidents and casualties in recreational boating statistics:
- Operator inattention
- Driver inexperience
- Improper lookout
- Excessive speed
- Alcohol use
- Boat equipment failure
With determination, we will strive to prove the cause of your damages from a boat accident. We will demand justice when severe negligence contributes to your injuries.
Speak With a Boat Accident Lawyer
Let us relieve the worries that often accompany pursuing a Las Vegas, NV boat accident claim when we take legal action on your behalf. Lake Mead boat accidents and Las Vegas, NV lakes and rivers boating accidents are significant events that can instantly change life. Schedule a free consultation with a boat accident attorney at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law to discuss your case and learn more about the financial compensation you can claim from damages in a boating accident.