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Monthly Archives: February 2012
One way to cool off during the summer is to hit the water on a boat or Jet Ski. For people who do not own a boat or Jet Ski or whose vessel is not in working condition, numerous companies offer a solution: watercraft rental. When a person rents a watercraft, he or she typically has to sign a liability waiver. Companies use these waivers to protect themselves in the event a customer is injured or killed while operating a rental boat or Jet Ski or while riding as a passenger on one. If you sustain injuries on a rental boat or Jet Ski after signing a liability waiver, you may be limited in terms of the compensation you can seek or ineligible to file a lawsuit at all. However, depending on the particular circumstances of your recreational boating accident and the jurisdiction in which it occurred, the liability waiver…
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Many cruise lines now offer onboard activities like rockwall climbing, zip lines, ice skating or simulated surfing, and they typically require passengers to sign a liability waiver before participating in any of these activities. One cruise ship attraction that has recently garnered legal headlines is Royal Caribbean’s FlowRider, which allows passengers to surf or body board on simulated waves. Last December, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court decision in a lawsuit filed by a Royal Caribbean passenger who was injured on the FlowRider, ruling that the cruise line’s liability waiver is unenforceable. The court determined the waiver violates a federal law that prohibits owners of vessels transporting passengers between U.S. ports or between U.S. and foreign ports from including any regulation or contractual provision that attempts to limit the owner’s liability when owner or employee negligence results in a passenger’s injury or death. The court further…
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On Dec. 27, 2011, tugboat captain Patrick Warga, 46, of Bainbridge Island, Wash., died from injuries he suffered during a Christmas morning mugging in Tampico, Mexico. Warga was an employee of Seattle-based Foss Maritime whose work had taken him to the Tampico region. He died in a San Diego hospital surrounded by his family, leaving behind a wife and three children. According to the Bainbridge Island Review, Warga and a shipmate wanted to visit a church on Christmas Eve, so they left their boat and found one in Tampico. When they were unable to get a cab back to their boat, they decided to stay at a hotel for the night. Warga’s shipmate could not locate him the next morning, and Warga was later found at a local hospital with severe injuries. According to a Tampico newspaper, Warga’s attacker beat him over the head with a rock, and the Bainbridge Island…
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