San Diego Personal Injury Attorney

J&Y Law Firm San Diego
501 West Broadway, Suite 800-110
San Diego, CA 92101
619.649.8342

Serving Personal Injury Accident Victims Throughout San Diego

San Diego, known for its pleasant climate, lovely Pacific beaches, and world-renowned zoo, is also a West Coast center for art, boasting multiple art galleries, studios, and museums. A magnet for tourists, San Diego is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, as well as the 8th largest, having a population of more than 1.3 million. Still, as we are all well aware, even places that seem like paradise have their share of accidents, and a certain number of accidents are the result of someone’s negligence or even malice. This is why, wherever you’re located, it’s important to know a skilled personal injury attorney.

If you live In the San Diego area, you’re fortunate to have an excellent law practice, J&Y Law, right in your hometown, conveniently located at 501 West Broadway, Suite 800-110. J&Y Law has offices throughout California, each housing talented personal injury lawyers with track records of maximizing personal injury claims. Focused solely on personal injury, we are able to provide our clients with a vigorous defense of their rights to be justly compensated for medical costs, lost wages (past and future), and pain and suffering.

J&Y Law is a comprehensive personal injury firm, meaning that we cover all types of personal injury cases, including:

To illustrate the type of attention to detail we will give your case, we are going to use one type of accident involving personal injuries as an illustrative example. Since San Diego is a harbor, we have chosen boating accidents as our topic.

Boating Accidents Are Common San Diego Personal Injury Claims

In spite of the fact that boating is, for a great many people, a relaxing and enjoyable form of recreation, thousands of boating accidents occur in this country every year, many involving serious injuries, and even death. Although in San Diego boating accidents had hit a record low in 2012, since then there has been an increase. The most common types of accidents reported in San Diego County have been collisions between water vehicles, capsized vessels, boats that run aground, and boats that become flooded. Beyond the number of boating accidents listed in the general statistics, the San Diego Harbor Police note that as many as 20 percent of nonfatal accidents go unreported.

Causes of Boating Accidents

No matter how avid a boater you are, the above statistics should give you pause. A number of factors contribute to dangers on the water, including:

  • Increasingly crowded waterways
  • Relatively lax laws regarding age and training of boat operators
  • Increased substance abuse throughout the population

As with all vehicle operation, no matter how cautious you are, you can’t control the other drivers, unforeseen mechanical failures, or unpredicted weather events. If you have the misfortune to be injured in a boating accident or to lose a loved one during a boating accident due to the negligence of another, you should contact a highly qualified personal injury attorney to assist you in receiving the compensation you deserve.

It will probably not surprise you to learn that the majority of boating accidents occur at the end of the day or during the evening since this is the time when boat operators tend to become less attentive and engage in more drinking and other substance abuse. The distractions that also affect drivers on roads, obviously affect boat operators, except that on the water there are less precise pathways, younger drivers (some as young as 12 years of age), and there is more room for passenger activity and even carousing on the vessel — passengers are not, for example, belted in. This unfortunate confluence can lead to serious distractions for the boat operator. When combined with foul weather, other impaired boaters, dangerous wave or wake conditions, increased speed or reckless behavior, serious, even tragic, accidents can result.

Damages You May Receive for Boating Injuries

If you are injured as a result of the negligence of another — whether it is the operator of a boat on which you are a passenger, the operator of another vessel, a defect in the boat or motor due to faulty manufacture, you are legally entitled to recompense. While those who are working on fishing boats or for the military have other avenues of seeking justice, recreational boaters in San Diego should reach out to the experienced attorneys at J&Y Law who have the know-how to help them receive every dollar of compensation they deserve.

Compensatory Damages

If another is at fault or has contributed to your injuries in a boating accident, you are entitled to several types of compensatory damages: medical expenses, lost of past and future wages during your recuperation, and payments to cover your physical pain and emotional suffering. If a member of your family has been the victim of a wrongful death, his or her survivors should be reimbursed for medical and funeral expenses, lost earnings and projected inheritance, and loss of companionship, consortium, and general support.

Punitive Damages

If the court considers the party responsible for the injuries or death to have been behaving in a particularly egregious manner, it may award punitive damages to the victim as well as compensatory ones. Punitive damages, which are usually substantial, are designed to punish the guilty party and to discourage others from imitating such wild and reckless behavior.

Types of Boater Negligence

Boat operators, like drivers of any vehicles, should always be cognizant of the fact that they have their own lives, the lives of their passengers, and the lives of others using the local vehicles in their hands. Just as wild weather or crowded waterways should make boat operators extra cautious, mild weather and calm waters should never lull boaters into a false sense of security. Whenever you’re driving a vehicle, you have to be alert and aware. In order to operate a boat safely, you must:

  • Operate it at a safe speed so you have the time to react to unexpected events
  • Make certain that everyone onboard is wearing a life jacket
  • Prevent untrained and/or underaged passengers from taking control of the boat
  • Remain awake, alert, and sober
  • Regularly have the boat’s mechanical functioning checked
  • Have emergency equipment onboard (flotation devices, fire extinguishers, flares, etc.)
  • Make sure that the boat is balanced and not overloaded
  • Know the local navigation rules of traveling on the water
  • Pay close attention to weather advisories
  • Be aware of weather and water changes and know how to maneuver through them

 It should interest you to know that, according the U.S. Coast Guard’s annual report, a full 90 percent of drowning victims were not wearing life jackets at the time of the accident and that owner inexperience is the third most common reason for boating accidents. Make sure that the boating operator, whether it is you or another, has taken a nationally approved boating safety education course, since only 15 percent of boating deaths occur on vessels where the boater is safety-certified.

Why J&Y Law Is the Right San Diego Firm to Contact

J&Y Law is a well-respected practice throughout California, a state in which it has 21 successful offices. In addition to being a member of a great many important legal and medical organizations, J&Y Law attorneys are proud to have won tens of millions of dollars for their clients.  Our services have been touted on CNN, and in highly regarded publications, such as Forbes, USA Today, and The New York Times. When you come to J&Y Law you can be assured that you will receive caring, individualized attention and that we will concentrate intently on winning you the maximum amount in damages you deserve. Remember, we will only charge you a fee if we win your settlement or successfully litigate your case in a court of law. We can be reached through the contact form on our website or by calling 619.649.8342.