Lafayette Boating Accident Lawyer

Don’t struggle with the consequences of a recent boating accident in Lafayette, Louisiana on your own. Call Kenny Habetz Injury Law and discover how our award-winning Lafayette boating accident lawyer can help you stand up and fight to get the compensation you need and deserve.

Since 2010, Kenny Habetz Injury Law has been a fierce advocate for injured boaters and devastated families in Lafayette and throughout Southern Louisiana. Our results speak volumes, with millions in settlements and jury awards recovered on behalf of clients like you.

Take a stand and put a top-rated litigator in your corner. Contact our law office in Lafayette, LA to set up at (337) 399-9000 free initial case evaluation now. 

How Kenny Habetz Injury Law Can Help After a Boating Accident in Lafayette, LA

How Kenny Habetz Injury Law Can Help After a Boating Accident in Lafayette, LA

How and why did your boat accident happen? Is the operator to blame? Can more than one party be liable? What kind of evidence will you need to win your boat injury claim? How can you be sure that a settlement offer you get is fair?

Focus on your recovery and leave these (and other) important issues to Kenny Habetz Injury Law.

Kenny Habetz is an award-winning Louisiana trial attorney with over a decade of experience handling complex personal injury and insurance disputes. When you turn to his law firm for help after a boating accident, you’ll give yourself the edge you need to win and secure a meaningful result.

Count on us to:

  • Help you fully understand the legal rights and options available to you after your boating accident
  • Carefully analyze vessel maintenance logs, operator records, weather reports, video footage, photographs of damage to the vessel and other property, witness statements, medical records, and other evidence pertinent to your case
  • Review results of investigations completed by local, state, and/or federal government agencies
  • Bring in boating experts, maritime specialists, forensic specialists, medical professionals, and other experts to provide advice and guidance
  • Represent you during settlement negotiations with the negligent boater, their insurance company, and other parties
  • Reject unreasonably low settlement offers and bring your boat accident lawsuit to trial in Lafayette Parish, if needed

We understand that a boat accident can be costly. Medical bills can rack up quickly, and a sudden loss of income can make matters worse. When you choose our law firm to represent you, there’s no added financial burden. We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win your boating accident case.

Give our law office in Lafayette, LA a call or reach out to us online to learn more. Your initial case evaluation is free.

How Common Are Boating Accidents in Louisiana?

Situated on the Gulf Coast, Louisiana is home to some of the most well-known bodies of water in the United States. The Mississippi River, the Red River, and Toledo Bend are all popular recreational and commercial boating attractions in the Bayou State. 

Lafayette, just a stone’s throw from the Gulf Coast, is home to several popular lakes and bodies of water, including Cypress Lake, Petit Bayou, Spreafico Lake, and Charlo Lake.

Given the state’s bounty of beautiful lakes and rivers and its proximity to the Gulf, boating is a popular pastime here. Unfortunately, boating accidents are incredibly common – and increasingly catastrophic – in Lafayette and across the state of Louisiana.

According to the United States Coast Guard, Louisiana averages more than 100 boating accidents annually.

In 2022, 103 boat accidents were reported in Louisiana, a slight drop from the year prior, when 111 boating accidents were recorded statewide.

That’s an average of roughly 8.5 boat accidents a month.

We Handle All Types of Boating Accident Cases in Lafayette

At Kenny Habetz Injury Law, we advocate for clients who have been injured or lost close family members in all types of boating accidents, including:

  • Kayak accidents
  • Jet ski accidents
  • Motorboat accidents
  • Canoe accidents
  • Commercial fishing accidents
  • Guided tour boat accidents
  • Cruise ship accidents
  • Sailboat accidents
  • Pontoon boat accidents
  • Fatal boat accidents

Do not hesitate to reach out to our skilled and respected boating accident attorney in Lafayette if you’ve been hurt. We’re here to listen to your story, explain your rights and options, and offer help as you work toward a meaningful financial recovery.

What Causes Most Lafayette Boating Accidents?

Boat accidents, for the most part, are avoidable. They tend to happen because someone is negligent or careless.

Some of the leading causes of Louisiana boat accidents include:

  • Alcohol use
  • Drug use
  • Improper lookout/distraction
  • Speeding
  • Operator inexperience
  • Sharp turns
  • Improper anchoring
  • Overloading
  • Equipment failure
  • Congested waterways
  • Inclement weather

Our Lafayette boat accident attorney will carefully examine the specific details of your case to pinpoint precisely why and how the accident happened. The more we understand the underlying cause(s) of your boat accident, the better prepared we’ll be to leverage a meaningful financial recovery from those responsible.

Who Could Be Liable For My Injuries After a Lafayette Boat Accident?

In Louisiana, liability for a boat accident can extend to any party who directly or indirectly contributed to the crash.

Potentially liable parties could include:

  • Boat operator
  • Boat passenger or occupant
  • Boat rental company
  • Boat manufacturer
  • Tour boat company

You can potentially recover compensation from anyone whose negligent or wrongful actions caused your boat accident. However, you’ll have to establish that the party owed you a duty of care, breached it in some way, and directly contributed to your boat accident (and resulting injuries). 

Kenny Habetz Injury Law will help you determine who caused your boat accident and work to hold them personally accountable for your resulting costs and suffering. 

What Damages Can I Get in a Boat Accident Lawsuit?

Whether you file a claim for insurance benefits or a boating accident lawsuit, you can typically recover compensatory damages.

Compensatory damages include:

  • Economic damages to compensate for the financial burdens associated with your boat accident, and
  • Non-economic damages to compensate for difficult-to-value trauma and changes you experience as a victim.

Our law firm will advocate to secure compensation for your:

The negligent boater and/or their insurance company will try to call the shots and dictate the terms of your financial recovery. Kenny Habetz Injury Law won’t let them. Our Lafayette boating accident attorney will carefully scrutinize the details of your case, gather compelling evidence, and work closely with experts to build a persuasive legal claim that forces the defendant to pay you the compensation you deserve.

Common Boating Accident Injuries

As the victim of a boating accident in Lafayette, you’re susceptible to many serious, potentially life-threatening injuries.

At Kenny Habetz Injury Law, we’re here to help you seek compensation for your boat accident-related:

Seek emergency medical treatment at a local hospital in Lafayette as soon as you can after a boat accident. Then call our law office to discuss your legal rights.

Can Shared Fault Hurt My Boating Accident Settlement in Louisiana?

What happens if you’re blamed for your boating accident in Lafayette, LA? Don’t panic – contributory fault is not an automatic bar to recovering compensation. However, sharing responsibility for a boat accident will impact your settlement or jury award.

Under Louisiana’s pure comparative negligence system, damages will be reduced in direct proportion to your assigned blame.

If you’re 10 percent at fault, your recovery will be reduced by 10 percent.

Attorney Kenny Habetz is all too familiar with insurance companies and their victim-blaming tactics. When you turn to him for help after a boat accident, he’ll work to defend you from these strategies and protect your ability to get the full monetary payout you deserve.

How Long Will I Have to File a Louisiana Boating Accident Lawsuit? 

Louisiana has a quick one-year statute of limitations for boating accident lawsuits.

The deadline applies to cases involving personal injury and wrongful death.

You’ll lose the right to recover compensation if your claim isn’t filed on time. So, it’s imperative to reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney near you in Lafayette after a boat accident. 

Schedule a Free Consultation With a Trusted Lafayette Boating Accident Lawyer

Demand accountability for your recent boating accident in Lafayette, Louisiana. Better yet, focus on your recovery and let our experienced Lafayette boating accident attorney take the lead on your fight for compensation.

When you choose Kenny Habetz Injury Law, you put a top-rated Louisiana litigator with over ten years of experience in your corner. Our law firm has helped clients win millions, and now we’re prepared to help you get the money you deserve, too.

Contact our Lafayette, LA law office to get started. Your first consultation is free.

Our Lafayette, LA personal injury law office also provides: