3.8 million dollar jury award against Brunswick--be aware

T

thataway

Active member
There was a 3.8 million dollar award agains Brunswick (Sea Ray/Mercury). This may be reversed upon appeal, but it is something which we should all be aware of. I am quoting part of the article from Statesman.com:
"Brochtrup (the 18 year old injured) sued Sea Ray Boats Inc. and Mercury Marine — Brunswick is their parent company — in 2007, saying they were liable for his injury.

He had been celebrating the July Fourth weekend wakeboarding with three friends at Emma Long Metropolitan Park when the accident happened. Brochtrup had just finished his turn on the wakeboard when a tow rope popped off the back of the white Sea Ray ski boat.

Brochtrup jumped out of the boat to grab the line. Unaware that Brochtrup was in the water behind him, 18-year-old driver Patrick Houston put his family's boat in reverse.

The propeller caught the top of Brochtrup's right leg and twisted it around, chopping deep into flesh, muscle and bone."

As in many marine cases, there was a percentage liability from each party--the driver of the boat who put it in reverse (17%), the person who was injured by jumping into the water to retrive a tow ine (17%) and Brunswick who did not put a propreller guard over the prop of this boat ( 66% liability).

Sad that a young man was injured, but in my opinion it is not practical for all props to be covered by a cage to prevent boating accidents. This is not the first time that this type of injury as occured, and that large awards have been given. The moral is that we all have to be responsible in operating our boats--to avoid this type or similar types of injuries.
 
Perhaps this post should be entitled "Sharks Attack on behalf of flying fish "
This an example of what is killing our freedom .
Marc
 
Wow, that is the kind of logic that threatens to take our guns away. People should be held accountable for their actions. Accidents are called accidents for a reason, but lack of care and prudence in operating a piece of machinery, or carelessness around that machinery, shouldn't be blamed on the design of the machinery. What was the jury thinking?
 
[sigh]...same old BS...different day. No one is responsible anymore. It's always "someone else's fault", especially when the "someone" has deeper pockets. And I swear, I don't know where they get these "jurors" but wherever it is, they need to stop breeding.
 
A couple of questions. Can a boat like that be equipped with a propeller guard? Will it significantly degrade its performance?
 
It’s sad to say, but the driver and person who got injured where almost candidates for splitting a Darwin award. I wonder how much alcohol was involved.
 
I think someone said something like this before on this site and it is so true.

“People have to take responsibility for their own actions and not expect the government or someone else to protect them from living.”


______
Dave dlt.gif
www.tolandmarine.com
 
This is another stupid is as stupid does equation You just can't fix Stupid.

We as a society have put the blame on everyone but ourselves .It's always someone else fault . It seems the new generations think there is always someone to sue . We have no one to blame but ourselves ,Look how many trial lawyers are on TV these days suiing for anything . We definatly need some sort of tort reform .stop these silly lawsuits.

Yes a prop guard could be put on but it would surely cut down on performance and mileage That is why some people buy Jet boats
 
jennykatz":3ksgk4hh said:
This is another stupid is as stupid does equation You just can't fix Stupid.

We as a society have put the blame on everyone but ourselves .It's always someone else fault . It seems the new generations think there is always someone to sue . We have no one to blame but ourselves ,Look how many trial lawyers are on TV these days suiing for anything . We definatly need some sort of tort reform .stop these silly lawsuits.

Yes a prop guard could be put on but it would surely cut down on performance and mileage That is why some people buy Jet boats
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It's a PROPELLER, for goodness sakes! By definition, it's going to have sharp edges and turn kinda fast! Here's a bit of advice: stay out of the way of things that have sharp edges and turn kinda fast! I feel bad for the kids involved, but... reward them for being stupid??? What's next - put prop guards on piston and turbo prop aircraft? Helicopters? Wind generators? Underneath lawn mowers? Maybe we should put a guard on all knives and scissors?

The kids were stupid and the jury is stupid. We'll never get tort reform because the vast majority of our elected lawmakers are lawyers. In our desire to "take care" of everyone, we've created a society that feels entitled to be taken care of.

Did I mention: stupid? The rest of society that isn't stupid is disgusted (small portion) and indifferent (large portion).

There is a commercial on TV as I am writing this... people declaring how much money this lawyer got for them. "I am _____________, and I will work to get you the most money!"

It's our insurance dollars being used to pay stupid people. It's not about the blame, it's the fact that we have created a profit center for encouraging stupid people.

Aaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!

Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":2k9xq9w9 said:
We'll never get tort reform because the vast majority of our elected lawmakers are lawyers.
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...and get a HUGE amount of money from trial lawyers. Just look @ health care "reform". Nothing in there about tort reform...NOTHING.
 
Amazing. I just can't see this kind of suit flying if it were directed against an auto manufacturer with someone standing in the car out the sunroof and falling out then getting backed over. Then again....bubble suits for everyone, thats the answer.
 
interesting case. not mentioned in dr. bob's post regarding percentage of liability was the owner of the ski-boat who entrusted his vessel to a 18 yr old, perhaps unexperienced operator, who may or may not have had numerous vehicle violations/accidents as well, if the operator is reckless while driving a motorised vehicle on land, it can be assumed he will continue that trait operating a boat as well. the owner has a responsibility to know who is operating his boat, if he didn't know, he should have known. now, regarding the vessel, it is referred to as a ski boat, by nature, it's a boat design to be operated while people are in the water, specifically, behind the boat, that said, the manufacture should have taken all responsible actions to prevent bodily injury from prop action, cage if available, should have been installed. typically they're not but if it can be demonstrated that the company, or their competitor, sometime in the past had installed a cage like device, on a simular boat, then why didn't they on this boat.
boating takes place in a hazardous environment, what starts out as a fantastic day, can turn sour very quickly.
would love to hear form a c-brat attorney on this one!
pat
ps: from a boat insurance policy perspective, this accident as described by dr. bob, would qualify for liability coverage, to the extent of the policy limits, however had the injured party died, and the operator been charge criminally for the death, generally speaking, no liability/cost to defend coverage would exist, the operator and or owner, if co-defendant would be up the creek without a paddle!
 
As Dr. Bob alluded to, there have been a bunch of similar cases almost identical to this in the last five years or so. This is so frustrating. We all know this is wrong. Just on the surface it is ludicrous, manufacturers shouldn't be held liable for improper or unsafe use of their products. But the band leader shows up and the parade starts now.
 
This is the first of these cases where the manufacturer has been found responsible for any of the liability. Expect Brunswick to appeal, as to leave this decision stand will create a tremendous burden on the marine industry.
 
the owner of the ski-boat who entrusted his vessel to a 18 yr old,
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you mean the legal adult? maybe his boat. Bought my first one at 16.

We do not do our country or our children any good by extending the time we treat them as children. Nor does it benefit our society. the longer we treat adults as children the longer they will be a drain on your society and not a benefit.

This started when we raised the drinking age to 21, something I have never understood. How can a adult that can get married , go to war, get drafted, be executed, have a abortion and pay taxes not be trusted to have a drink?? It was followed by limiting the amount of work a youth can do after school. I worked 30 to 40 hours a week thru much of high school and still passed as did all my friends. The less we expect from the youth of this country the less we will receive.

Now we are looking at the health care reform bill that includes covering your "child" until they are 27??? Oh and they don't have to repay their collage loans either. sounds like free bread for Rome to me.
 
starcrafttom":1ci83jrq said:
... (Back when I was a kid stories...)

Now we are looking at the health care reform bill that includes covering your "child" until they are 27??? Oh and they don't have to repay their collage loans either. sounds like free bread for Rome to me.
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Who is this "Rome" guy and where do we go to line up for the free bread?

:twisted:
 
The more I think about the accident the more this judgment pisses me off.

This is the same as if you dropped something out of your car and as your kid got out to pick it up you backed over him. Would Honda be at fault???? Are you kidding me.

And as for the cage over the prop commits, are you kidding me??. There are no ski boats built with a cage over the motor nor should there be. learn to stay away from the boats prop.

20 years ago a couple of morons ran over a skier and killed her in my home town. they were following her around the lake because she was a hottie and when she fell they were two close to turn in time. No one sued the boat builder, no one ask why a guard was not on the prop and no one blamed her for falling.

Only one at fault in this present case is the driver of the boat. Not even the guy that went in the water. Just the captain.

I have done some stupid stuff in my life and some folks have gotten hurt including my self. No one is at fault for any of it but me and I own ever one of those. Some were fun some were not all hurt like hell, but I never looked to blame some one else.

Now had a mechanical fault caused the accident that would be different. The boat did not stick in reverse.
 
Tom-

I'm with you on this one, but i'm sending Jim a loaf of bread and one of my dusty 1956 World History books! :lol:


Fun among friends!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
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