What to Do if You are in a Jet Ski Accident in Tampa Florida
While jet skis can make for a day of fun on the water, they can also lead to serious personal injury if they are involved in an accident due to someone else’s negligence. Here is what to do after a jet ski accident and how our personal injury attorneys can help you.
Ensure the Accident Scene is Safe
After an accident involving a jet ski, the first priority is to ensure that anyone involved or responding to the scene is safe from further risk of personal injury. In a jet ski accident, dangers after the incident include the risk of drowning, the unpredictability of water, and the difficulty involved in procuring emergency services.
Individuals should help get anyone who has fallen overboard to safety, without risking their own safety or that of other passengers or water users. Do a head count to ensure everyone in your party is accounted for.
If you have cell reception, you should dial 911. This will alert the nearest emergency service, such as the U.S. Coast Guard or local police department. Seeking help will depend to a certain degree on what resources are available, so sound judgment is often needed based on the circumstances of the individual situation. If you have signal flares on board, you should deploy them.
Seek Medical Attention
After ensuring that everyone involved in the jet ski accident is safe from further harm, it is important that anyone involved in the accident receives medical attention. Even if you do not believe you sustained any serious personal injuries after the accident, receiving medical attention is still important. In the event that you or another member of your party decides to pursue litigation against the negligent individual who caused the accident, having formal medical documentation that details any injuries sustained will serve as an important piece of evidence for you and your Tampa personal injury lawyer to present to the court.
Gather Evidence from the Scene
While medical documentation is an important piece of evidence for personal injury litigation, there are other items that accident victims should attempt to gather while still at the scene. These include:
- Names, addresses, and phone numbers of anyone involved in the accident, including witnesses.
- Registration or identification number of other vessels involved in the accident.
- Any photos or video of the damage caused by the accident, as well as the general location and position of vessels.
- Insurance details of operators and vessels involved in the accident
Notify Your Insurance Company
You may need to make an insurance claim even if you were not to blame for the accident. However, you should not admit any fault or discuss the accident with other parties or insurance companies before consulting with our experienced local personal injury attorney.
Seek Professional Legal Counsel
If you have suffered personal injury from a jet ski accident in Florida and you have reason to believe that the other party involved caused the accident due to their negligence, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries and other damages, such as damage sustained to your vessel. Personal injury attorneys help accident victims review the details of their case and determine if it is a good idea to pursue litigation in light of Florida’s laws on negligence
For decades, the attorneys at Florin Gray have been helping accident victims in Tampa as they fight for fair compensation for their injuries. Contact the talented Tampa personal injury attorneys at Florin Gray today for expert legal advice you can trust.