How ridiculous is this

Marc,

Don't know if C-Dory does this anymore but my owners manual begins with the caveat (paraphrasing.....something like this), "We know you had to have been pretty successful in whatever you did to save enough money to buy a boat like this so we won't insult your intelligence by telling you not to put your hand on the hot stove...."
 
Marc,
I do not know if alcohol was involved but I do know that NO BRAIN CELLS were. No manufacturer can indemnify its customers from STUPDIDITY, IRRESPONSIBILITY and BAD JUDGEMENT.

Of course, aquatic ambulance chasing is the name of THIS GAME.


DUH..........
 
I just find it sad that people don't take responsibility for their actions . That tragedy had NOTHING to do with the boat .
Marc
 
Marc there's been a little discussion about this on the Hull Truth and I agree it's more than ridiculous. I know the area well and for anyone interested it's roughly statue mm 760. This is a very narrow, straight and shallow part of the ICW. I've watched the coverage from the beginning and there's no way this can be considered anything but operator error. This particuliar area has a history and a few years back some dock owners were forced to shorten their docks by the Corp of Engineers. Locals have lobbied for the area to be a no wake zone also. The news said the particuliar boat had been stopped several times in weeks before the accident and even on the day of the accident for safety inspections. The loss of life is a terrible thing but the owner operator in my opinion was at fault. The tug (push boat) was properly tied off and the Crestliner vereded off course and into it probably (my guess) from weight shift in the overloaded boat. It was estimated to be traveling between 30 and 35 mph which was in my opinion to fast for the narrow and usually congested section of the waterway. I'm afraid this thing will be drug out for years by the system and cost innocent people a bundle proving there innocence.
 
Even if this lawsuit is unsuccessful, I fear that it will have the effect of driving up the cost of boats. The small aircraft industry is an example. People sued over pilot error, with the result being the cost of a Cessna, Piper or other A/C then going through the roof.
 
Not only is it absurd, at $75K, they are going for easy money as it may cost that much, or more, to fully defend. We see this crap in the medical field all of the time, just parasites trying for a quick buck.
 
MARC AND OTHER C-BRATS,
THIS REMINDS ME OF A JOKE THAT GOES LIKE THIS,
THERE WAS A SMALL TOWN WHICH HAD ONLY ONE LAWYER PRACTISING LAW. THIS LAWYER WAS GOING BROKE UNTIL ONE DAY AND ON THAT GIVEN DAY HE STARTED MAKING MORE MONEY THAN HE HAD EVER EXPECTED. SO, WHAT HAPPEN ON THAT DAY THAT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED HIS FORTUNE? WELL, ANOTHER LAWYER MOVED INTO TOWN AND THAT GAVE THE ORIGIANL LAWYER SOMEONE TO ARGUE WITH!
so, my point would be the law is the law, but you can't find two lawyers willing to agree with what that law is. so, they argue their point and thus create billable hours and they both get rich. with this in mind, doesn't surprise me that crownline or anyone else downline will be listed and defendants.
another story says, in the united states the original architects of rome's colosseum would still be held responsible for any and all liabilities associated with that structure!
best regards to all
pat
 
STOP THE INSANITY, if all lawyers would just put down the law books and take to brewing beer, this would be a much better world..............granted, there are good lawyers and a need for them
 
only need for a good layer it to protect you from the bad ones.

I always thought that you should not get mad at the guy that is sleeping with your wife. he did not promise to love honor and obey, he did not tell you he loved you. He was just given a change to have sex with a willing partner. No fault of his own.

Well stupid law suits are the same. The private lawyer did not promise to protect you or look out for you, the morons in congress did. They are supposed to protect you Thur the law and regulations. You voted for them to do so. So did the attorney generals of the state and the governors along with the district court judges that are all allowing these law suits and we choose to vote for them.

So would you stay married to a cheating wife? I didn't, I got rid of her (first wife not current one) So why do we keep reelecting anyone.
 
RichardW":2472on59 said:
I do not know if alcohol was involved but I do know that NO BRAIN CELLS were. No manufacturer can indemnify its customers from STUPDIDITY, IRRESPONSIBILITY and BAD JUDGEMENT.
Click to expand...

Four of the main reasons for my job security. I'd bet money that alcohol was involved and that would be number five.

Like any other profession, there are good lawyers and there are low, life, scum of the earth lawyers who are out for nothing more than a buck. This guy is obviously the latter and his "clients" are morons.
 
so, you're walking down the street and fall into a hole. at the bottom of the hole you find a lawyer and a rattlesnake. you have a pistol with two bullets in it. what do you do?
you shoot the lawyer twice!
that's it, i'm off to the gym.
pat
working harder getting younger while growing older!
 
I have a bowrider boat. As long as the people in the front are sitting down, which they should be doing when in the bow area and at speed, the captain can easily see forward. I've been on many other bowriders, and this is true of all of them. And of course you could be ejected from a boat if it stops too quickly. This is true of any open boat and I always thought it was why you wear life jackets and drive in such a way as to avoid hitting things!

This lawyer certainly seems to be too ambitious. And Crownline will probably settle the lawsuit for $20k-40k since that is cheaper than going to trial and more predictable. I will add that lawyers are necessary in some cases. Say you purchased a brand new XYZ boat. The second time you are out on it, in calm water and traveling at a reasonable speed, the boat breaks up due to poor design or faulty building practices and you are killed or seriously injured. You can't work but still have a family to feed, a mortgage to pay, etc... In that case, the boat manufacturer could be negligent and you/your family would want to be compensated for your injuries/death. It's unlikely that XYZ boats will volunteer an acceptable settlement, so that's when the attorneys come in.

In this case it seems like if anyone should be sued it would be the owner/operator for illegally operating the vessel.
 
The lawsuit is perfectly understandable because the plaintiffs lawyer knows it may have nuisance value.

Awhile back there was a nightclub fire in RI where many perished.
Named in the lawsuit was Budweiser because they provided free promotional material for the club and had DEEP POCKETS.

The plaintiff and defendant's lawyers know juries made up of barely intelligent people can be swayed to give large amounts of money to the hapless passengers and the boat manufacturer has the deepest pockets.

BTW: if you listen to the video clip, it's reported the medical examiner said the driver was not intoxicated.
 
you don't have to be drunk to have bad judgement or little skill. Seems the news and others use the drunk test as a divider between being at fault and being a victim. You can be slobber as the day is long and still be stupid. The law suit is wrong because nothing the builder did to that boat or the designer of the boat caused the accident, could not have. Now if the steering failed that would be grounds for a law suit.
 
The $75,000 is an extremely low value--especially considering the injuries and loss of life in this case. I read some thing about the total limit of the person's liability policy being in the $300,000 range. That this was a set up for future litigation limitation. Perhaps someone can fill in the details--or I'll find the post I read last night.

Remember that there was an incident against the Navy when a boat hit an unlit bouy out of the channel in Anaheim bay--at 2 AM--alcohol involved and excess speed in a no wake zone!
 
I read the same thing that the owners insurance limit was $300,000. I think the $75,000 figure was a minimum to get things going? The boat was at a Restaurant/Bar in St Augustine before the accident. They picked up two ladies at the bar one to operate the boat because they stated "she was the only one sober enough that could operate the boat." The accident occured probably 15 miles from the restaurant. According to the reports her alcohol level was .03% which is below the limit of .08 for Florida. I seem to remember the owners BA level being below the limit also. The local paper printed a picture of the boat and where everyone was seated at the time of impact. The owner of the boat was on the port side in the bow. I think there is still some question as to who was actually operating the boat. The accident occured before dusk so lighting wasn't a factor. From the very beginning local authorities referred to the accident scene as a "crime scene". I pity all envolved and I expect the property owner will relive the event everytime he looks out at his dock.
 
It is very possible the person acting as captain at the helm was not drinking or intoxicated (apparently the driver was not intoxicated). This type of accident could have (may have) been triggered by a simple weight shift. After all 14 people (~2100lbs @ 150lbs/person) on-board this size and type of vessel is considered overloaded (by two according to the manufacturer); and, probably overloaded in the most "balanced" of manners. If someone had fallen against the driver (by accident, by drunken neglect, pushed by someone else, etc) - the driver could very well have been unable to respond in time. Let's say 6-8 people decided to all move to the "other" side of the boat at the exact same time while the boat was on plane - that is a SIGNIFICANT shift in weight. Was the driver of the boat the owner of the boat? I don't know. Many folks are keen to point out the driver was intoxicated/drunk using drugs or whatever.

People are entitled to enjoy themselves and have a good time. Some times even smart people make really dumb mistakes - by simply being around the wrong people at the wrong time.

It's just very sad young lives were lost - but, it's also sad when the press and others throw rocks and place blame before any of the known facts have been brought forward. We had an ex-Attorney General of North Carolina within the past year who was fired because he completely ruined the lives of five University LaCrosse team members and their families because some stupid bimbo convinced the Attorney General's office that LaCrosse players had raped her.

Our judicial system ... what a mess.
 
While this particular lawsuit certainly appears to be without merit, I think you are being a little hasty condemning all lawyers and lawsuits. If not for lawyers willing to take on the establishment, we might still be getting incinerated in that fire trap that was the Pinto (it was reported that evidence showed that Ford actually calculated the cost of a recall against the damages from the forseeable deaths) and rolling over in our Corvairs, not to mention ingesting all that asbestos (yes, some of the lawsuits are over the top, but many unnecessary, horrible deaths could have been prevented). Legislators have made the decision to leave these issues to lawyers and courts because they lack the guts to legislate and offend constituents on either side (if not reelected, they might actually have to go to work). Usually, the cost of litigation to the plaintiff's lawyer is enough to discourage frivolous lawsuits and corporations usually bury plaintiff's lawyers with paperwork and costs, even in good cases.
 
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