Texas Boat Accident Lawyer
Boating collisions on Lake Travis and the Highland Lakes are investigated differently from road collisions, there is often no independent witness, and the duty owed by an operator is set by the Texas Water Safety Act.
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The rules that govern Texas waterways
The Texas Water Safety Act sets the operating rules for vessels on Texas waters, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens are the primary investigating authority rather than local police. Reckless operation, operating at an unsafe speed for conditions, and failing to keep a proper lookout are the usual failures.
An operator involved in an accident causing injury, death or significant property damage has reporting obligations, and a failure to render aid to those affected is itself a breach of duty.
Boating while intoxicated
Operating a vessel while intoxicated is an offense in Texas, and the same legal limit applies as on the road. Sun, heat, dehydration and engine noise increase impairment at a given level of alcohol, which is why intoxication is a factor in a disproportionate share of serious boating incidents. A criminal charge is useful evidence in the civil claim but is not required for it.
The injuries these cases produce
Propeller injuries are catastrophic and often involve amputation. Passengers ejected during a turn or a wake impact suffer spinal and head injuries. Carbon monoxide accumulating around swim platforms causes poisoning that is regularly mistaken for heat exhaustion. Drowning claims frequently involve inadequate lifejacket provision or a failure to supervise.
Who may be responsible
The operator is the starting point. A vessel owner who let an inexperienced or impaired person operate the boat may be liable for negligent entrustment. A rental or charter operator has duties around instruction, equipment and screening. A manufacturer may be liable for a defective propeller guard, fuel system or steering component.
Insurance is not the same as auto insurance
Texas does not require boat insurance. Coverage may sit under a homeowner policy, a specialist marine policy, or nothing at all. Establishing early what coverage exists shapes what the claim can realistically achieve.
What a boating injury claim can recover
The same damages categories apply as in any Texas injury claim: medical expenses, lost earnings and earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement.
Propeller injuries frequently involve amputation, which makes impairment and disfigurement central rather than incidental. Where a death occurred, the wrongful death and survival claims apply alongside. The practical ceiling is often coverage, because Texas does not require boat insurance at all.
What happens in the first weeks
The game warden investigation produces a report, but it is not the final word on fault and it is not written with a civil claim in mind. The firm obtains it and investigates independently.
The vessel itself is evidence and should be preserved rather than repaired. Mechanical and steering components, propeller guarding and fuel system condition are all examined where relevant. Passenger and bystander accounts are gathered early, because boating incidents frequently have no neutral witness and recollection of a chaotic event fades quickly.
The deadline, and the maritime question
Two years from the incident applies under Texas law in most cases. Some incidents on navigable waters raise maritime law questions, and maritime claims can carry different deadlines and different rules.
Which applies depends on where the incident occurred and what the vessel was doing. It is worth resolving early rather than discovering late that a shorter period governed.
The cost of investigating a boating case
The firm works on a contingency fee and advances case expenses. Boating claims commonly require a marine surveyor or a mechanical engineer where equipment failure is suspected, and toxicology evidence where intoxication is in issue.
What this kind of claim can recover
| Cause | Typical injury | Who may be responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Operator inattention or unsafe speed | Collision trauma, ejection | Operator, vessel owner |
| Boating while intoxicated | Collision trauma, drowning | Operator, and the owner who entrusted the vessel |
| Propeller strike | Amputation, severe laceration | Operator, manufacturer where guarding failed |
| Carbon monoxide near the swim platform | Poisoning, drowning | Manufacturer, owner, charter operator |
| Inadequate lifejackets or supervision | Drowning | Owner, rental or charter operator |
| Mechanical or steering failure | Loss of control | Manufacturer, maintenance provider |
More on boat accidents
A Boat Operator's Duty to Assist
Immediately, and it is a legal duty rather than a courtesy.
ReadFirst Action After a Boating Accident
Stop. Everything else follows from it, and the order of what comes next is not arbitrary: people...
ReadBoat Accident Claim Value
Boating claims turn on something road claims do not: whether any insurance exists at all.
ReadDeadline to File a Boat Claim
Two years under Texas law, but if federal maritime law applies the period and the rules can differ...
ReadWho Can File a Boat Claim?
Passengers, occupants of other vessels, swimmers, water sports participants and the families of anyone who drowned.
ReadWho Is Liable for a Boat Accident?
The operator usually, but not only.
ReadBoat Accident Injuries
The injuries that define a boat accident claim are not the ones a car crash produces.
Read
Related practice areas
Injury claims overlap. These are the areas most often connected to this one.
Wrongful Death
Texas gives specific family members the right to bring a wrongful death claim, and gives the estate a separate claim of its own.
Learn moreTraumatic Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury is the injury most often missed at the emergency room and most often disputed afterwards.
Learn more
Who handles boat accidents at the firm
Mike Ely
Attorney
George Washington University Law School, 2002
Frequently asked questions
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens are the primary investigating authority on Texas waters, rather than local police. Their report is an important record, though like a police crash report it is not the final word on fault.
No. Coverage may exist under a homeowner policy or a specialist marine policy, or there may be none at all. Establishing what coverage exists early shapes what a claim can realistically recover.
Possibly, through negligent entrustment. An owner who allows an inexperienced, unlicensed or intoxicated person to operate the vessel may be liable for the harm that follows.
No. A civil claim is separate from the criminal case and uses a lower standard of proof. A conviction helps, but the absence of one does not prevent proving intoxication in the civil claim.
Two years from the date of the incident under Texas law in most cases. Some incidents on navigable waters can raise maritime law questions with different deadlines, which is worth checking early rather than late.
It can, depending on where the incident happened and what the vessel was doing. Maritime claims carry different rules and can run on different deadlines, so it is worth resolving early rather than assuming the ordinary two year period applies.
Find out where your claim stands
A free consultation covers what your claim requires, what the deadline is, and what insurance coverage is actually available.
Contingency fee. You pay nothing unless we win.